Rivers, Turner and Rollins speak on Bucks’ 111-100 loss to Hornets
Doc Rivers, Myles Turner and Ryan Rollins speak on the Milwaukee Bucks’ 111-100 loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Nov. 12, 2025.
The Milwaukee Bucks return home to conclude a stretch of five games in seven days, beginning with the front end of a back-to-back against the Charlotte Hornets tonight at Fiserv Forum.
Milwaukee rallied from a 10-point deficit to take a 103-98 lead after the third quarter thanks to 10 points off the bench by Gary Harris and a starting unit that all reached double figures. Milwaukee native and Charlotte rookie Kon Knueppel led the Hornets with 22 points.
The Bucks played with some funky lineups through the first half, and the result was 12 turnovers leading to 18 Hornets points and Charlotte taking a 69-61 lead at the break. The Hornets also out-rebounded the Bucks 20-16 and had five more points off five offensive rebounds.
Bucks coach Doc Rivers totally altered his lineups in the first quarter, starting Kyle Kuzma in place of Gary Trent Jr. and finishing the frame with a group of Jericho Sims, Bobby Portis Jr., Gary Harris, Cole Anthony and Trent. Milwaukee led 34-33 after one, but only have scoring five points in the final 38 seconds after Charlotte went on an 11-0 run against the all-bench unit to take a brief lead.
Charlotte beat Milwaukee 111-100 in North Carolina on Nov. 12 as Giannis Antetokounmpo sat out with knee pain.
It is the second NBA Cup pool play game for East Group C, which the Bucks are 1-0 and the Hornets are 0-1. Milwaukee heads into play trailing Miami by eight points in the point-differential tiebreaker.
Is Giannis playing?
Yes. The Bucks star began the day as probable to return to the court while dealing with pain in his left knee. He played in the team’s first back-to-back of this stretch on Nov. 9-10.
Bucks injury report
- Taurean Prince, out (neck surgery)
- Kevin Porter Jr., out (right meniscus surgery)
- Giannis Antetokounmpo, probable (left patellar tendinopathy)
Pat Connaughton returns to Milwaukee for first time
Former Bucks forward Pat Connaughton returned to Milwaukee for the first time as a member of the Hornets on Nov. 14, and he immediately got out and about in town like he normally would.
Before the Hornets shot around in preparation for the game, Connaughton attended a ribbon cutting for another “Connaughton Court” renovation at the Don and Sallie Davis Boys & Girls Club of Greater Milwaukee. It was the 13th renovated court the Pat Connaughton Foundation oversaw in and around Milwaukee since 2020.
Connaughton was traded to Charlotte in the offseason after seven years with the Bucks as part of a series of moves to open up cap space to sign Myles Turner.
“Milwaukee, yeah, I’ll always be back around,” Connaughton told the Journal Sentinel in the offseason. “They may not see me as often when I was paying 41 home games here, but they’ll see me in the offseason, they’ll see me in the city. The foundation and the real estate development company will remain here in Milwaukee. We’ll always be looking to give back to a place that obviously gave so much to me throughout the seven years that I’ve been there.”
Bucks head coach Doc Rivers switches up starting lineup
Bucks head coach made a switch to his starters, inserting Kyle Kuzma in place of Gary Trent Jr., who had been in the opening lineup in every game this season.
Bucks probable starters
- Guards: AJ Green, Kyle Kuzma, Ryan Rollins
- Forward: Giannis Antetokounmpo
- Center: Myles Turner
What time is the Bucks game?
Tip off is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT.
What channel is the Bucks game on?
The game will be broadcast locally on FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin with Lisa Byington, Marques Johnson and Melanie Ricks will be on the call.
Bucks vs. Hornets odds
Milwaukee is a 9.5-point favorite vs. Charlotte, with the over/under set at 239.5 points.
What is the NBA Cup?
The NBA Cup is an in-season tournament the league began during the 2023-24 season. It features all 30 teams broken up into six “groups” for pool play. The winners of each group and one wildcard from each conference (so eight total teams) advance to single elimination tournament play culminating in the championship game in Las Vegas.
The Los Angeles Lakers (2023) and Bucks (2024) were the first two champions of the Cup while LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo were the first two Most Valuable Players.
Each team has hung a championship banner in their respective arenas to commemorate the title.
What is the prize money for the NBA Cup?
- Winning team: $530,933
- Runner-up: $212,373
- Losing semifinalists: $106,187
- Losing quarterfinalists: $53,093
