Bucks’ Ryan Rollins impressive in picking up huge amount of slack | Lori Nickel

Bucks guard Kevin Porter speaks for first time on ankle, knee injuries

Milwaukee Bucks guard Kevin Porter speaks for first time on his ankle and knee injuries following court work on Nov. 19, 2025.

• Ryan Rollins scored a team-high 32 points and had a career-best 14 assists in an overtime loss to the 76ers.
• Despite the loss, Rollins was praised by his coach and teammates for his offensive and defensive efforts.
• Rollins has a rare opportunity to take on more responsibility with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kevin Porter Jr. sidelined.

Ryan Rollins, the Milwaukee Bucks 23-year-old point guard, was a bright spot Nov. 20, picking up the slack for the injured Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Rollins scored a team-high 32 points, which tied his own career high, and handed out a career-best 14 assists in 40 minutes of a 123-114 overtime loss to the Philadelphia 76ers at Fiserv Forum.

With all of his offensive responsibilities, he also was often tasked with matching up against Philadelphia’s Tyrese Maxey – who went off for 54 points − in the Bucks zone defense.

“We need him,” teammate Kyle Kuzma said. “He does so many things for us. The most important thing he does − other than the offensive things − is his defensive tenacity. Just the way he competes on that end of the floor, really helps us, especially from guarding guard positions.”

Despite the loss and Maxey’s dominance, Rollins shined in numerous ways for the Bucks, and shied from nothing. He played confidently, saw the floor, looked to create scoring opportunities for others and took the initiative with his own shot. Philadelphia respected him from the jump, whether the 76ers picked him up full court or tried to set a high trap at the point.

“He’s just playing so hard – and so many minutes,” Bucks coach Doc Rivers said, adding there were a few mistakes, one of them mental, in a set play with fellow guard AJ Green.

“We had AJ Green shoot, that was the play. And he didn’t see it,” Rivers said. “In his defense, he was probably exhausted, trying to run the team and guard Maxey a lot. It’s not easy.”

Rollins also mentioned wanting a different rhythm on his own potential game winning step-back 3-pointer with 1 second left in regulation that didn’t fall, but it was still a bold play that showed his winning mentality. Even when a few of his shots at the rim didn’t fall – and they usually are automatic for him – Rollins attempted 26 shots overall and kept the offense flowing.

“Yeah, obviously, it’s a little more responsibility with Giannis out,” he said. “But I can do it. It’s cool.”

There was so much composure for such a young player getting so many minutes this season, too. Just a week ago, this was a little challenge for him in another overtime game against Charlotte, when he didn’t agree with the way the officials were calling or not calling fouls. After that game, Rivers even teased that Rollins lost his mind for a minute.

There was none of that against Philadelphia.

“He complains to me; he feels like he’s getting hit a ton at the basket,” Rivers said. “And he’s not getting the call. Every time Maxey went to the foul line, he kept looking over at me. I don’t know what I can do for him on that! But I think he has a case.

“I thought the last one that (Rollins) drove and got hit across the arm, he made the layup – you could hear the slap. Next play, there was almost a touch foul on him – and they called it. You’ve just got to play through that. He does that, and that’s what’s so impressive.”

Antetokounmpo is out for 1-2 weeks with a groin injury, and point guard Kevin Porter Jr. is rehabbing from meniscus surgery, which means Rollins has both the burden of responsibility − and the rare opportunity − to step up once again. He quickly moved on from the loss.

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“You’ve got to have a short memory because it is a long season,” Rollins said. “You can use everything in these games as a learning experience. It’s all about growth and being 1% better. Like the end-of-game situation, that’s something I can learn from. A lot of things I can learn from in this game – just playing and learning from it, honestly.

“At some point – usually it’s like 12 (midnight) when I go to sleep after a night game − to wash it away.”