Bucks News: Jimmy Butler Reacts to Draymond Green Shutting Down Giannis

Ricardo Klein | Mar 19, 2025

Mar 18, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) attempts to turn and shoot over Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (left) during the fourth quarter at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images / D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images

The Milwaukee Bucks suffered a tough loss to the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night. They are off to the wrong foot in their first game of a five-game West Coast road trip.

The Buks made a valiant comeback in the second half. However, they failed to collect a strong 48 minutes and dropped their 30th game of the season. The Warriors have been one of the better teams since the All-Star break, largely thanks to the addition of Jimmy Butler.

Butler has been the ultimate game-changer for Golden State. Still, they rely on the presence of their defensive maestro, Draymond Green. Green's defense has been incredible his entire career, and unfortunately for the Bucks, that was the case on Tuesday night.

Green had the upper hand on the Bucks, especially when guarding Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Antetokounmpo struggled all game long when Green was the primary defender. After the game, Butler loved what he saw from his star teammate.

"I think you gotta respect the hell out of what he does... To shoot the ball, I don't know, four times, maybe... Then, just lock in on defense every single possession down and get mad when anybody scores. Not just a guy that he's guarding. You don't find that around the league too often... He is a Hall of Famer for a reason. Damn, I just respect what he brings to this squad, what he brings to this locker room and how he affects winning in every single way."

Here’s Jimmy Butler going long on Draymond Green’s defense

“You gotta respect the hell out of what he does.” pic.twitter.com/bJjnG4Z5ov

— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) March 19, 2025

Antetokounmpo couldn't do anything when guarded by Green. He went 0-of-6 from the field in the seven minutes when Green was the primary defender.

Overall, Antetokounmpo did not have a strong outing. The Greek Freak tallied 20 points on a poor 5-of-16 shooting from the field, nine rebounds, seven assists, and three steals in 39 minutes of action.

Although the Bucks won the turnover margin significantly, 10-19, Milwaukee shot poorly from the field. They shot 39.2 percent from the field and 31.6 percent from three. Milwaukee was also rebounded by a significant margin, 52-34.

Combine those shooting percentages and being outrebounded by that much; there is no chance a team wins that game.

Tuesday's game was the second consecutive time Antetokounmpo scored and shot below his average.

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