Doc Rivers Made This Clear To Bucks After Close Loss To Celtics

The Bucks didn’t beat the Celtics on Wednesday night, but Milwaukee probably left TD Garden with a level of affirmation.

The Eastern Conference’s second-ranked team was in for a very difficult challenge going up against Boston without all-world superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo. The potential playoff preview played out accordingly, with the Celtics taking advantage of Antetokounmpo’s absence and building a lead as large as 21 early in the fourth quarter.

But the Bucks never quit and cut the deficit all the way down to two with 33 seconds to go. The Celtics hung on for a 122-119 win, but Milwaukee proved it will be a tough out if the conference foes meet in the postseason.

Doc Rivers suggested as much in his postgame message to the visitors.

“What have (the Celtics) been to, five Eastern Conference finals? One Finals? But we’re going to get there too. We’re going to keep growing. You can feel it,” Rivers told reporters, per The Athletic

“Even tonight. No moral victories, I told them that. Let’s not have a party tonight, because we lost. But it was just the battle. We didn’t lose the war. The war’s ahead of us.”

Boston owns a slight upper hand in playoff matchups of this era, coming out on top in two of three head-to-head series since Jayson Tatum’s rookie season in 2017-18. Despite history and the Celtics’ formidable look this campaign, Rivers’ side clearly won’t be intimidated if it draws Boston in the playoffs.