Doc Rivers didn’t pretend the plan was seamless. Asked how he learned Giannis Antetokounmpo wouldn’t go against the Golden State Warriors , the Milwaukee Bucks coach said .

“Honestly, I didn’t even know; they came in, told me he was out. I don’t even know what it is because it was so late; I was scrambling, trying to figure out what we were going to do.” A late scratch will do that to a coach, especially when the scratch is a two-time MVP.

Then the Bucks exhaled and played one of their most composed games of October. With Antetokounmpo sidelined by left knee soreness about an hour before tip, Milwaukee leaned on pace, threes, and a breakout from Ryan Rollins to beat Golden State, 120–110. Rollins, once a Warriors draft pick, torched his former team for a career-high 32 points on

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