Kings mentally outlast Bucks in fiery win, end decade-long drought in Milwaukee originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
It wasn’t pretty, but the Kings, after a fiery 48 minutes, put an end to a decade-long drought in Milwaukee.
Yes, you read that right.
Behind star Zach LaVine’s fifth 30-plus-point game of a young 2025-26 NBA season, the Kings, for the first time since 2015, pulled off a 135-133 win over the Bucks on Saturday at Fiserv Forum.
Sacramento’s chances looked bleak early on after giving up a 15-2 lead to open the game. But, in an intriguing turn of events with less than six minutes in the first quarter, Bucks forward Bobby Portis, visibly upset over the previous possession, shoved Kings star Domantas Sabonis in the back.
Bobby Portis received a technical foul for this altercation with Domantas Sabonis 😯 pic.twitter.com/w74paEc8wA
— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) November 1, 2025
Not only would the altercation foreshadow the physical game that was to come, but it would also light a fire under the same Kings team that gave up 47 points in the first 12 minutes.
“Yeah, we like that. At the end of the day, you guys know how I play,” Kings guard Dennis Schröder told reporters. “That’s just motivation. I think that brought us more together.
“Russell [Westbrook] having Domas’ back right away, making sure he’s right there. I think that shows that we want to become a team, and we’re getting there. I was really happy. I was on the bench. At that time, I couldn’t get on the floor because I would’ve gotten a suspension. But Russell had his back, and I think it fueled us.”
“Yeah, we like that.”
Schröder reveals how the Sabonis-Portis scuffle motivated the Kings in tonight’s win pic.twitter.com/xpjoYG80I4
— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) November 2, 2025
Even though Bucks coach Doc Rivers admitted that the disruption on the floor started well before Portis’ exchange with Sabonis, he did acknowledge the energy shift it caused.
“The emotional, I agree with you, it definitely changed when Sabonis and Bobby, right,” Bucks head coach Doc Rivers told reporters. “But I thought it even started before then …”
“… Again, I’ve always said that I’m fine with all the talking as long as you can play still. If you can’t then we got to keep our focus.”
The tension carried over into the second half, with Bucks’ Gary Trent Jr. picking up a technical foul in the third quarter and Cole Anthony being ejected with less than 11 minutes to play in the fourth quarter.
Bucks guard Cole Anthony is ejected after receiving his second tech 😳 pic.twitter.com/6GD1YB63nV
— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) November 1, 2025
Ultimately, the Bucks failed to keep their focus, making way for the Kings’ core to find their groove despite Milwaukee shooting 59.8 percent from the floor.
Sabonis put up 24 points, 13 rebounds and six assists, while Schröder notched up 24 points, five rebounds and seven assists. Westbrook, who started on the bench, posted 12 points and a season-high 10 assists.
On Saturday, the Kings won the mental game, snapped a three-game losing streak and, most importantly, waved a decade-long drought goodbye.