The Milwaukee Bucks and Giannis Antetokounmpo were sent crashing back to earth after suffering two straight losses, with the latest one against East’s no. 1 team Cleveland Cavaliers.

Mar 9, 2025; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard (0) drives against Cleveland Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley (4) in the second half at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Michael McLoone-Imagn Images
Doc Rivers said the major difference between his team and Kenny Atkinson‘s is the ball movement that reflects the players’ trust on each other.

“I thought the difference in the two teams’ trust, ball movement, was visual,” he told reporters after the game.

“We’ve had it. We’ve lost it the last couple of games and we gotta get it back.

Looking at the stats, Rivers might have a point there. The Cavs had 25 assists in the game against the Bucks’ 17.

Mar 9, 2025; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) runs down the court after making a basket against Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen (31) in the first half at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Michael McLoone-Imagn Images

Milwaukee got Cleveland’s numbers in many categories including total number of attempts and rebounds.

Antetokounmpo, who averages almost six assists per game recorded just three. Damian Lillard gets 7.1 dimes per game but he only had four on Sunday.

Giannis Antetokounmpo begs to differ

Jan 31, 2025; San Antonio, Texas, USA; Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers watches forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) shoots during the second half against the San Antonio Spurs at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

The Greek Freak has an opposite view about how they loss to the Cavs. If Rivers thinks they are not sharing enough, Antetokounmpo thought they were not as aggressive as they should be.

“We were playing side-to-side; wasn’t playing downhill,” he said.

“That’s pretty much it. I feel like we had a lot of opportunity to play one-on-one, but we came with the mindset of trying to move the ball, more side-to-side, get everybody involved and I think at times we were just overthinking.”

He also encouraged the team to go for the shot whenever possible.

Mar 9, 2025; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) pregame against Cleveland Cavaliers at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Michael McLoone-Imagn Images

“It’s great to pass the ball to one another, but sometimes, you just gotta pass the ball to the rim, in my opinion. … I could see it. Everybody’s trying to get one another involved, like it’s almost too much.”

The Bucks will return to action on Tuesday to face the Indiana Pacers.