Portis: Bucks' recent hot stretch was 'fool's gold'

Bobby Portis gave a brutally honest assessment of the Milwaukee Bucks after the team suffered its third straight defeat Monday against the Boston Celtics.

Milwaukee had won eight of 10 games prior to its skid, but the veteran attributed the club's hot stretch to its quality of opponents rather than the Bucks' actual play.

"Just playing better teams," Portis said after the third consecutive loss, according to The Athletic's Eric Nehm. "Kind of fool's gold, for real. Rolling eight out of 10, playing against bottom teams, teams that's trying to lose, for real, right?"

Milwaukee's strong run included a pair of wins against the New Orleans Pelicans as well as a victory over the Indiana Pacers. Both clubs are among the worst in the Association.

The Bucks also scored a win over the Chicago Bulls, who sit below them at 12th in the East standings.

Doc Rivers' team has fallen to the Celtics, Bulls, and New York Knicks during its three-game losing streak, with an average margin of defeat of 26.3 points.

"I don't care about the points. I just care about how we're playing," Rivers said postgame, per Nehm. "We were playing great and we've kind of lost our way and I think it's on both ends.

"I think offensively, we had a great rhythm and we've done it in spurts in the last three games, but we haven't been able to sustain it."

Milwaukee did get some good news Monday as Giannis Antetokounmpo returned to the lineup following a 15-game absence due to a calf strain.

The Bucks are 3.5 games back of the Charlotte Hornets for the East's final play-in tournament spot with 22 contests left on the schedule.