Milwaukee Bucks coach Doc Rivers was impressed by Damian Lillard's "courage" as he secured a late win over the Houston Rockets in the NBA.

Lillard returned to the Bucks' line-up after missing the last three games while in concussion protocol and made a go-ahead layup with 3.9 seconds left to clinch a 101-100 win.

He finished with 18 points and 10 assists to make it three wins from four for Milwaukee, who started the season 2-8.

However, Lillard also missed all six of his 3-point attempts, but Rivers maintained his confidence in the eight-time All-Star, comparing him to one of the NBA's greatest shooters.

"Dame just has great courage, you know?" Rivers said. "Reminds me a lot of Ray Allen in that way.

"Ray didn't have a lot of bad shooting nights, but when he had one, if you had one shot to make, you still wanted to go to him. And that's how you feel about Dame.

"Like, whether he's on fire or not, he just has this thing in him that he believes that he should take the last shot and make the last shot. And he does it over and over."

Brook Lopez scored 27 points on 11-of-15 shooting, along with 10 rebounds, while Giannis Antetokounmpo chipped in with 20 points and 13 rebounds.

The Rockets looked set to extend their winning streak to six games though, as they edged to a 100-99 lead with 1:17 remaining until Lillard's late involvement flipped the script.

"I could feel it was one of those games where I needed to keep going, keep my foot on the gas down the stretch," Lillard said.

"It just came down to those last two plays. I got one to go, and we were able to get a stop on the other end."

The Milwaukee Bucks are struggling to sustain their performance levels over a full game amid their five-game losing streak, says coach Doc Rivers.

The Bucks have failed to win since triumphing in their season opener against the Philadelphia 76ers, going down 114-113 to the perfect Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday.

They raced into a 38-30 first-quarter lead at Fiserv Forum before tailing off badly, prompting Rivers to question their fitness.

“We don’t sustain the game,” Rivers said. “We haven’t been able to sustain 48 minutes.

“We’ve got to figure that out. That’s on us. We have not found the correct rotation yet.”

Damian Lillard was unfortunate to be on the losing team after scoring 41 points with nine assists and shooting 10 of 15 from 3-point range, and he pointed out that several opponents had benefitted from having strong bench options against them.

“I think every team that’s hurt us, they’ve had somebody come in off the bench and have an impact on the game,” Lillard said. 

“They had a guy come in and knock down three 3s when they were bleeding and we had them down and our energy was right. He comes in and, ‘Bang, bang, bang.’"

However, Giannis Antetokounmpo – who had 34 points, 16 rebounds and nine assists – believes the Bucks’ results will soon turn, claiming their displays have improved.

“It doesn’t mean we’re going to go to a five-game winning streak or a 10-game winning streak,” Antetokounmpo said. 

“But I know that we’re playing better. We trust one another better. The ball is moving. There’s a lot of good things that we can do. That’s all we can control.”

The New York Knicks are under no illusions as to the importance of securing home-court advantage for the Eastern Conference playoffs, with Friday's win over the Brooklyn Nets keeping them in the hunt for the second seed.

The Knicks drew level with the Milwaukee Bucks at 49-32 with their 111-107 win at Madison Square Garden, boosting their chances of playing at the iconic venue through the postseason.

Jalen Brunson put up 30 points and added 11 assists as the Knicks made it four straight victories, with Josh Hart adding 16 and Mitchell Robinson tacking on 15.

The result saw New York secure a top-four seed, with the Bucks' subsequent 125-107 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder keeping their chances of finishing second in the East alive.

With the Bucks possessing the head-to-head tiebreaker, the Knicks must beat the Chicago Bulls in their season finale on Sunday and hope Milwaukee lose on the road against the Orlando Magic. If both teams lose, the Cleveland Cavaliers could yet usurp them.

Asked about the importance of playing at home, Hart said: "I heard the lights are really bright at MSG during that time, so it's really big for us."

Coach Tom Thibodeau, though, said the team cannot control anything other than their own results, saying: "We want to go through the finish line so that's the way we're looking at it. We want to improve and play our best."

With Giannis Antetokounmpo sidelined by a left calf injury and Damian Lillard missing out due to pain in his left adductor, the short-handed Bucks let the Knicks into the race with their loss at Paycom Center.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 23 points and Chet Holmgren added 22 as the Thunder eased to victory, establishing a 17-point halftime lead which they never looked likely to surrender.

Asked about Milwaukee's failure to wrap up second place, Bucks coach Doc Rivers said: "I don't have much of a reaction. We've got to run to the finish line.

"The good news is, no matter what, we'll be at home for game one. That we do know."

That result was also an important one in the race to top the Western Conference, with the Thunder now locked in a three-way tie with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets.

It's in Oklahoma City's hands going into their season finale against the Dallas Mavericks, with Mark Daigneault's team edging the three-way tiebreaker.

"I think the big exponential jumps come from small incremental steps," Daigneault said after Friday's game. "I talk all the time about stacking and we really are trying to live that out. 

"We just try to have a good day in the day that's in front of us, have a good possession in the possession that's in front of us, a good game in the game that's in front of us and just be very present in the process of improving and competing."

Head coach Doc Rivers slammed the Milwaukee Bucks after their slump continued against the Toronto Raptors on Friday, saying losing to "bad teams" is inexcusable. 

The Raptors had lost 15 straight games ahead of their trip to Fiserv Forum, but Gary Trent Jr.'s 31 points helped condemn the Bucks to a surprise 117-111 defeat, their fifth loss in six games. 

Milwaukee were without Giannis Antetokounmpo as the two-time NBA MVP battles a hamstring injury, though Damian Lillard returned after three games out to score 36 points. 

However, it wasn't enough for the Bucks, who pulled within two points with 54.5 seconds left but saw Khris Middleton miss a potential go-ahead 3-pointer before four free throws saw Toronto home.

Still occupying second place in the Eastern Conference, Milwaukee are now just one game clear of the Cleveland Cavaliers and two ahead of the Orlando Magic and New York Knicks.

Each of their last three defeats have come against teams who are .351 or lower in the Washington Wizards (15-63), Memphis Grizzlies (27-50) and Toronto (24-53), leaving Rivers enraged. 

"The last three were against pretty bad teams, and to me that's inexcusable for all of us," Rivers said. 

"This is on me. I've got to figure out what we've got to do to play at a higher pace. The defense has to be better. We've got to work ourselves through this."

Lillard echoed those sentiments, adding: "These are situations where we've just got to have discipline and get the job done, and we haven't.

"But if you ask anybody in the league, they'll tell you these are some of the hardest times of the season.

"We've got to take accountability. If it was one of these games, it's alright, the next two should be handled. To have three of them is disappointing. We've just got to do better."

For the Raptors, Friday's win was their first since March 3 against the Charlotte Hornets, with stars RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley having both been absent in recent weeks.

Barrett had 26 points and Quickley had 25 on Friday, leaving coach Darko Rajakovic to sing their praises, saying: "It's great when we have our guys coming back and playing.

"I thought during the whole stretch the team stayed together. It's good to get a win."

Giannis Antetokounmpo's greatness may be taken for granted by the Milwaukee Bucks, according to coach Doc Rivers, whose side overcame the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday.

The Bucks snapped Atlanta's four-game winning streak with a 122-113 triumph as Antetokounmpo managed 36 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists.

Antetokounmpo also made 12 of 16 free throws, with Rivers suggesting Milwaukee may overlook how much they rely on their star man.

"As I said, we take him for granted," Rivers said. "I thought he played as clean a game as he can play."

"I was really happy with the way we played overall because they did what they do, come out and make 3s."

Patrick Beverley scored 18 points as the fill-in starting point guard, despite concerns over his availability due to a wrist injury.

"He wanted to protect me, as a coach should," Beverley said of Rivers after playing 36 minutes and having five assists with no turnovers.

Hawks coach Quin Snyder acknowledged his team struggled to stop Antetokounmpo.

That plight was not aided by the fact Atlanta were missing Onyeka Okongwu and Jalen Johnson.

"It really does require multiple players to limit his ability to get to the rim," Snyder said.

Cameron Payne felt the Philadelphia 76ers found "the right juice" against the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday, but it wasn't enough as Giannis Antetokounmpo led the championship hopefuls to victory.

Antetokounmpo scored 32 points and added 11 rebounds as the Bucks rallied for a 114-105 win over the 76ers, who had led 83-80 at the start of the fourth quarter.

However, the Bucks inched ahead of their short-handed visitors with eight minutes on the clock, then AJ Green added three free-throws and a 3-pointer to open up a commanding lead.

The Sixers have now lost 13 of 20 games without reigning NBA MVP Joel Embiid, who hopes to return before the end of the season after undergoing surgery to repair the lateral meniscus in his left knee.

However, both Payne and head coach Nick Nurse sought to take the positives from Thursday's performance. 

"I feel like we had the right juice today. We had fun and it showed on the court," Payne said after finishing with 13 points in support of Tyrese Maxey, who had 30. 

Nurse echoed that view, saying: "I think the effort was really good. We were doing a lot of things we wanted to do. We turned them over a bunch in the first half. 

"Probably the difference in the game was that we didn't quite get to as many turnovers in the second. But I thought we did a lot of really good things."

The victory – Milwaukee's third in a row on home turf – improved the Bucks to 43-24, a record which is good enough for second place in the Eastern Conference behind the 52-14 Boston Celtics. 

"They were the instigators throughout the entire first three quarters," Bucks coach Doc Rivers said. "I thought in the fourth quarter it flipped."

The Sacramento Kings delivered their most complete performance of the season as they snapped a long winless run against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Sacramento won 129-94 on Tuesday, defeating the Bucks for the first time since February 2016.

That 15-game losing streak was the longest active such run of any team in the NBA.

De'Aaron Fox led the Kings with 29 points, while Domantas Sabonis had 22 points and 11 rebounds. He has now set a new Kings single-season record, with what was his 47th successive double-double. 

As good as the Kings' offense was, however, Fox wanted to praise the defense.

"I think defensively we did a great job," Fox said.

"I think that fuelled our offense. Obviously, we scored 130 points, but even if we didn't play that well offensively, if we have an even below-average game, score 110, we still win this game by 15.

"I think this was one of the most complete games that we've played this year."

Speaking of his teammate Sabonis, Fox added: "Night in, night out, he's come up big for us.

"I think people are immune to it. No one outside of basically us talks about it. But that's obviously a hard thing to do and there's not many people have done it. He comes ready to play every night."

While Giannis Antetokounmpo had 30 points and 13 rebounds, Bucks coach Doc Rivers said his team did not deserve anything but a defeat, and he took full responsibility.

"We deserved it tonight," said Rivers.

"It's my fault. I didn't get them prepared the way I should mentally. At shootaround, guys were talking about planes leaving.

"As a staff, we talked about it after shootaround that if our focus is not better than this morning, it's going to be a long day. And it was a long day. So that's on us."

D'Angelo Russell described himself as a "killer" after his career-best 44-point haul lifted the Los Angeles Lakers to a dramatic victory over the Milwaukee Bucks, as LeBron James sat out another game due to ankle discomfort. 

James missed his ninth game of the season on Friday as he continues to battle the niggling injury, but the Lakers overcame his absence with a stirring 123-122 win at Crypto.com Arena.

The Bucks held a one-point lead with 39 seconds remaining, with Giannis Antetokounmpo recording 34 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists while Damian Lillard backed him up with 28 points.

However, Russell scored 21 of his points in the fourth quarter, including the go-ahead jumper with 5.9 seconds remaining on the clock, to put the hosts up one.

There was more drama to come in the dying moments as Spencer Dinwiddie blocked Lillard's attempted buzzer-beater to preserve the win, improving the Lakers to 35-30.

Russell's nine 3-pointers were a joint-career best, while he also dished out nine assists. Speaking after the win, the 28-year-old said he always had confidence in his ability to deliver in clutch moments. 

"On the floor, I've always felt like I was capable of doing things. Getting hot makes it a little more exciting," Russell said. 

"Off the floor, obviously you all know what I've been through. Public humiliation has done nothing but mould me into the killer that you all see today. 

"I never lack confidence. I never fear confrontation. I want all the smoke. I just feel confident in what I bring to the basketball game, so whatever room I walk in, I'm confident."

Lakers team-mate Austin Reaves – who added 18 points – said: "D-Lo just stepped up and won us the game, and obviously with Spence with the defense on that last possession. 

"Just seeing D-Lo take over the game, I constantly kept telling him in timeouts, 'take us home'."

While the victory was a crucial one for the Lakers' playoff chances, the Bucks sit third in the Eastern Conference with a 41-23 record, and coach Doc Rivers knows the defeat will have little impact on their long-term ambitions.

He does, however, hope it serves as part of a learning curve, saying: "You want to win all these games, but that's the stuff that we're going to keep doing more and more until it becomes us. 

"There was a stretch where Damian and Giannis were playing a two-man game, and it was unstoppable. We want to encourage that more and more.

"It is a missed opportunity, but if we had won, that doesn't change anything. We're trying to go and get better. 

"I thought we had the game in our hands, and we let it go. That happens, and it'll happen again, and we'll win some the other way, too."

The Lakers are back in action against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Crypto.com Arena on Sunday, while the Bucks remain in Los Angeles to face the Clippers on the same day. 

Damian Lillard cited the Milwaukee Bucks' performance without Giannis Antetokounmpo as proof of the team they are becoming.

The Bucks won 113-106 on Monday, despite star man Antetokounmpo missing out due to left Achilles tendinitis.

Despite trailing by 15 points in the second half, the Bucks rallied, with Lillard finishing with 41 points while Bobby Portis contributed 28 and 16 rebounds.

Milwaukee have now won six straight games as they settle in under new coach Doc Rivers.

"It just shows who we're becoming," Lillard said.

"Nobody talked about who wasn't playing before the game. That just shows what's expected, the standard that we're starting to have, and who we're becoming as a team.

"We just trusted each other. Defensively, we've trusted our communication. We've depended on the next guy to do his job, and the same offensively.

"Because our team is seeing the results that we're getting from playing that way, even when it's not going our way at points in the game, we trust it. It's just coming back in our favour."

Portis added: "Guys needed to step up in their roles.

"I just feel like it was one of those times for me just to step up and be a little more aggressive than I probably was before."

Antetokounmpo has only missed three games this season, though Rivers is unsure whether the two-time NBA MVP will be fit to feature against the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday.

"It's been on and off the last two or three games," Rivers said of Antetokounmpo. "This morning he actually looked good, we'll just figure it out from there."

The Clippers, who will be without Russell Westbrook until April after he fractured his hand against the Washington Wizards last week, have now lost for the third time in five games, though they remain well-placed in the upper echelons of the Western Conference.

"When they went to that zone, I think we got a little jump shot-happy rather than keep attacking the basket and getting into the paint," Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said of his team's failure to hold onto their lead.

"I think we were in the bonus pretty early in the fourth quarter. They did a good job of going to the zone, and then we didn't handle it well."

The Philadelphia 76ers supporters may have jeered Doc Rivers, but the Milwaukee Bucks coach took the hostile reception in his stride as his new team won big on Sunday.

Rivers was dismissed by the Sixers eight months ago following a disappointing end to a season in which Joel Embiid was named the NBA's MVP.

Yet Rivers came out smiling after his return to Philadelphia on Sunday, with the Bucks having run out 119-98 victors.

Giannis Antetokounmpo (30) and Damian Lillard (24) combined for 54 points as the Bucks followed up their win over the Minnesota Timberwolves with a statement victory over a rival in the East.

And while Rivers received a frosty reception, he was all smiles after the game.

"I didn't even hear it, to be honest. That means I was back at home," he quipped.

"It was awesome. Really. I had three good years here, not talking about basketball, just in life. I enjoyed my stay here and made friends for life here.

"The fans were good, too. There were a couple of hilarious comments. One guy told me that Larry David was looking for me to golf. I thought that was pretty funny."

Reflecting on his tenure in charge of the Sixers, Rivers added: "I'm happy with it overall, I just wish we could've gone further.

"I wish we could have had a chance to have Joel healthy in the playoffs.

"But overall, Joel became an MVP, and we established this team as a championship contender. That wasn't said the year before.

"You think about it, we had the James Harden trade, the Ben [Simmons] stuff. Some was under my control, some was out of my control, but overall, for me, if you don't win a title, you're never exactly happy. That's why we all do this."

The Bucks are 5-7 under Rivers, who replaced Adrian Griffin in January. Antetokounmpo, though, is relishing the challenge under his new coach.

"I love him," Antetokounmpo said. "It's been incredible playing for him. He just explains to me, what he wants from me.

"You respect him because he's been 25 years in the league. You've got to respect what he's done in the league, won a championship, won a lot of games, but when he comes in the locker room, he keeps it simple."

The Bucks are third in the East, four wins ahead of the 76ers with a 37-21 record.

"I thought we were consistent," Lillard said. "We got into the paint, we were willing to make the extra pass to find the open guy and we got quality looks.

"To play good offense you find quality shots and have a lot of mix. I thought that’s what we did."

Rivers added: "We had been putting such an emphasis on defense.

"The last few games we’ve been terrific. When you have Giannis on your team, if you can get stops and get him in transition, Giannis in transition is a problem for everybody."

Giannis Antetokounmpo lauded Doc Rivers for bringing "high standards" to the Milwaukee Bucks after Monday's big win over the Denver Nuggets.

The Bucks ran out 112-95 winners over the reigning NBA champions, with Giannis finishing with a double-double of 36 points and 18 rebounds.

Milwaukee have won their last two games, after a three-game losing spin, and sit third in the Eastern Conference with a 35-19 record ahead of Tuesday's meeting with the Miami Heat.

While Rivers has not had the easiest of starts in charge since he replaced Adrian Griffin, the Bucks have now held successive opponents to under 100 points for the first time since 2021.

And Giannis credited the former Philadelphia 76ers coach for setting the standards high since his arrival.

"Guys are just being on the same page," Giannis said.

"Coach Doc is holding us to a high standard. He wants us to defend.

"He doesn't take lack of effort as an excuse. If you're on the floor, you've got to do your best."

The defensive organisation was particularly pleasing for Rivers.

"Just steady progress," he said. "Believing in your defense, trusting it, clarifying it, what we want to do.

"The more we can get our guys to know exactly what we're doing, they can play at full speed. That's what we're trying to do. Simplify, so we can play with fire."

Damian Lillard added: "I just think it's the accountability. When we're watching film, we're in our meetings, in practice, I think Doc and our entire staff, they're doing a great job of just calling everything out.

"They're challenging us in a lot of different ways. Our communication, how physical we are, how we carry ourselves as a group.

"Trying to find our identity. Who do we want to be? Who are we going to step like when we get on the floor? And I think we're just having a lot of carryover because there's so much conversation around it."

Nikola Jokic led the Nuggets with 29 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists. Denver sit fourth in the West.

Recent acquisition Buddy Hield scored 24 points and the Philadelphia 76ers held on late to end the Cleveland Cavaliers' nine-game winning streak with Monday's 123-121 victory.

Despite still being without injured reigning NBA MVP Joel Embiid, Philadelphia handed the red-hot Cavaliers just their second loss in their last 19 games behind hot-shooting efforts from Hield and Kelly Oubre Jr. 

Hield, making his third appearance since being acquired by the Sixers from the Indiana Pacers on Thursday, finished 5 of 8 from 3-point range and 9 of 13 overall from the field. Oubre hit 10 of his 14 field goal attempts while also collecting 24 points.

The win was Philadelphia's second straight following a 1-8 stretch from Jan. 25-Feb. 9, during which the team lost Embiid for an extended period due to a knee injury that required surgery.

Cleveland got 36 points and six assists from All-Star Donovan Mitchell and 21 points and 10 rebounds from Jarrett Allen, but couldn't match the Sixers down the stretch after taking a 102-100 lead with seven minutes remaining.

Hield scored the final eight points of a 13-2 run that gave Philadelphia a 113-104 advantage with 4:28 left to play, and the 76ers led 120-110 with 1:25 to go following an Oubre 3-pointer.

The Cavs responded with a 9-0 spurt to pull within 120-119 on Mitchell's 3-pointer with 14 seconds remaining, and had a chance to win at the buzzer when Darius Garland launched a 3-point shot that just missed the mark.

Garland ended with 21 points and nine assists, while Tyrese Maxey recorded 22 points and nine assists for Philadelphia.

Timberwolves dominate second half in rout of Clippers

The Minnesota Timberwolves got 24 points from Karl-Anthony Towns and a big third quarter to pull away for a 121-100 win over the Los Angeles Clippers and pad their lead atop the Western Conference.

Anthony Edwards added 23 points, 12 of which came during a dominant third quarter in which the Timberwolves outscored Los Angeles by a 40-19 margin.

Minnesota entered Monday's clash owning a slim half-game advantage on the Clippers, Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets, who were handed a 112-95 defeat by the Milwaukee Bucks, in the tightly bunched West standings. 

The Clippers kept it close until the latter stages of the third quarter, as the Timberwolves held a 70-69 edge with under five minutes left in the period.

Minnesota took over from there, as it closed out the quarter on a 19-3 run to take a commanding 89-72 lead into the fourth. Towns had eight points during the pivotal spurt.

The Timberwolves maintained a lead of 15 points or more throughout the final period en route to posting a second straight win and giving Los Angeles a second loss in its last three games.

Kawhi Leonard and Paul George led the Clippers with 18 points each, while James Harden finished with 17 points and six assists. 

Bucks use defence to get past champion Nuggets

The Milwaukee Bucks got 36 points and 18 rebounds from Giannis Antetokounmpo and another strong performance from their much-maligned defence to hand the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets a 112-95 loss.

Milwaukee entered Monday's marquee matchup ranked 23rd in the NBA in scoring defence at 119.3 points allowed per game, but held the formidable Nuggets to their second-lowest shooting rate of the season at 38.3 per cent.

The Bucks have yielded under 100 points in consecutive games for the first time this season. Milwaukee lost five of its first six outings under new head coach Doc Rivers prior to Friday's 120-84 rout of the Charlotte Hornets.

Nikola Jokić amassed 29 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists for the Nuggets. Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr., Denver's second and third-leading scorers on the season, were a combined 4 of 16 from the field, however.

Murray managed just three points on 1-of-5 shooting before sitting out the second half due to inflammation in his lower legs.

The Bucks had built a comfortable 60-44 lead at that point as Antetokounmpo racked up 26 points on 10-of-12 shooting over the first two quarters. The Nuggets never got their deficit under 13 points the rest of the way and are now mired in a two-game losing streak.

Milwaukee Bucks coach Doc Rivers is less than impressed after Saturday's win over the Dallas Mavericks meant he is set to coach in the All-Star game.

Rivers picked up his first win as Bucks coach as Giannis' Antetokounmpo's 48 points inspired Milwaukee to a 129-117 comeback victory, while Damian Lillard had 30 points on 10-of-11 shooting.

Yet that victory means the Bucks' coach is now obligated to take charge of the Eastern Conference team in the All-Star game on February 18.

That is because Joe Mazzulla, the Boston Celtics coach, is ineligible after coaching in the All-Star game last year. Given the Bucks have the second-best record in the East two weeks before the event, the task will fall to Rivers.

But after just three games in charge of his new team, Rivers – who replaced Adrian Griffin last month – was far from impressed with that outcome.

"It's ridiculously bad. It really is," Rivers said.

"Well, Adrian's going to get some money, that's for sure. And a ring. It's one of those quirky things.

"I think there should be a rule somehow that someone else does it, other than me. Maybe I'll send my staff, and I'll go on vacation.

"I'll run that by Adam Silver. Adam's a good man, I think he'll understand."

Luka Doncic finished with 40 points for the Mavericks, who lost a second straight game.

"Looking at what Milwaukee did, they just kept playing and took our best shot there in the first half and then ended the half on a positive with Dame making that three at the buzzer," Dallas coach Jason Kidd said. "We didn't take care of the ball."

Giannis Antetokounmpo has full faith in new Milwaukee Bucks coach Doc Rivers despite his opening defeat to the Denver Nuggets on Monday.

Rivers made his Bucks bow on the sideline in Denver after replacing first-year coach Adrian Griffin, but Milwaukee were beaten 113-107 by another of the NBA's best teams.

An NBA champion as coach of the Boston Celtics in 2008, Rivers is vastly experienced but is taking over a team in the middle of a season for the first time.

There will be an adjustment period, but that is something superstar Antetokounmpo is prepared for.

"He was great," the two-time MVP said of Rivers. "Everybody has to have patience. It's new – the way we play, the way we defend, it's going to take a while to get used to.

"We're slowly, slowly adjusting, changing a couple stuff. Coaching staff have got to have patience with the players; players have got to have patience with the coaching staff.

"But I feel like for the first game, it was good."

Indeed, for all the criticism of the Bucks' defense, Rivers felt the blame for the loss to the Nuggets lay with an offense led by Antetokounmpo and offseason signing Damian Lillard.

"I told our guys: anyone who told you that you couldn't play defense lied," Rivers said afterwards. "You proved that tonight. You competed tonight. Our half-court defense was excellent.

"I think tonight was an offensive loss. I didn't think we were crisp offensively.

"Dame and Giannis have played 40 games together in their life, Joker [Nikola Jokic] and [Jamal] Murray have played... you know?

"And if you looked at the game tonight, they had it going, our guys couldn't get it going, and that was the difference."

If not for Rivers' return to the coaching arena, the focus in this game would have been on a battle between Antetokounmpo and Jokic that the Nuggets center edged, finishing with a triple-double of 25 points, 16 rebounds and 12 assists.

"That's why I play, to play these kinds of games, to play under the pressure, to play tight games," Jokic said. "I like to play under those circumstances."

Anthony Edwards scored 27 points and helped spark a late run that propelled the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 107-101 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday in a clash of teams that had been tied for the Western Conference lead. 

Karl-Anthony Towns had 21 points and 10 rebounds and Rudy Gobert amassed 12 points and 18 rebounds as the Timberwolves bounced back from Saturday's one-point loss at Sacramento and dropped the Thunder to third place in the tightly bunched conference standings.

The Denver Nuggets moved a half-game ahead of Oklahoma City and remained a half-game behind Minnesota with Monday's win over the Milwaukee Bucks. 

Oklahoma City had erased a 10-point third-quarter deficit to take a 97-96 lead on two Shai Gilgeous-Alexander free throws with 2:43 left, but Minnesota's Jaden McDaniels hit a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession to start a pivotal 9-0 spurt.

The Thunder would miss their next four shots as the Timberwolves began pulling away. Edwards followed McDaniels' trey with a running dunk and McDaniels scored on a tip-in before Towns capped the run with two free throws that put Minnesota up 105-97 with 15.5 seconds to go. 

Minnesota owned a 62-52 advantage nearing the midway mark of the third quarter before the Thunder seized momentum with an 11-0 run. Gilgeous-Alexander had six points and Jalen Williams scored the last five of the flurry, which gave Oklahoma City a 63-62 edge with five minutes left in the period.

The Thunder, who were coming off a stunning 120-104 loss to the NBA-worst Detroit Pistons on Sunday, received 37 points and eight assists from Gilgeous-Alexander and 20 points from Williams. 

Chet Holmgren, Oklahoma City's third-leading scorer at 17 points per game, was held to just four points on 2-of-9 shooting, however, as the Timberwolves finished with a 46-34 point advantage in the paint.

Jokic has another triple-double as Nuggets spoil Rivers' debut with Bucks

Jamal Murray scored 35 points and Nikola Jokić posted his 14th triple-double of the season to power the Denver Nuggets to a 113-107 win over Milwaukee in Doc Rivers' first game as the Bucks' head coach.

Jokic compiled 25 points, 16 rebounds and 12 assists to add to his league-leading triple-double count and help the defending NBA champions keep pace with first-place Minnesota in the West. The Nuggets have now won five of their last six games.

Rivers, who coached the Boston Celtics to an NBA title during the 2007-08 season, was hired shortly after the Bucks dismissed Adrian Griffin on Jan. 23 despite sitting in second place in the Eastern Conference with a 30-13 record. Assistant Joe Prunty coached Milwaukee's last three games and went 2-1.

The veteran coach's tenure started off strong as the Bucks jumped out to a 24-11 lead midway through the first quarter, though the Nuggets ended the period on a 12-0 run to cut their deficit to 26-25 entering the second. 

Denver gradually asserted control and owned an 84-75 advantage early in the fourth quarter, but the Bucks hit three straight 3-pointers during a 13-2 spurt that put them back ahead with under nine minutes to play.

The game remained tight until the Nuggets pulled away with an 8-0 run, which Murray capped with a jumper that gave Denver a 106-97 lead with 3:17 to go.

Giannis Antetokounmpo paced Milwaukee with 29 points on 11-of-19 shooting along with 12 rebounds, while Brook Lopez had 19 points and Damian Lillard finished with 18 in the loss. 

Suns bounce back by handing Heat seventh straight loss

The Phoenix Suns kept rolling behind a balanced attack and strong defence that resulted in a 118-105 victory over the reeling Miami Heat, the seventh consecutive loss for the defending Eastern Conference champions.

Eric Gordon scored 23 points off the bench to lead six Phoenix players in double figures in a game the Suns led by as much as 28 points en route to stopping a two-game losing streak.

The Suns also got 22 points from Devin Booker and 20 from Kevin Durant, with both stars finishing with eight rebounds and seven assists each.

Miami went 14 of 36 from 3-point range but was stonewalled from inside the arc, shooting a subpar 39.6 per cent on 2-point attempts in this latest defeat. The Heat have lost seven straight for the first time since the 2007-08 season.

Jimmy Butler led Miami with 26 points and recent acquisition Terry Rozier had 21 in his fourth game with the Heat.

Miami shot just 35.4 per cent in the first half as the Suns built a 62-49 lead at the break, and its shooting woes continued as Phoenix extended the margin in the third quarter. 

Booker had 12 points and the Suns shot over 68 per cent for the period to open up a commanding 100-74 advantage entering the fourth quarter.