Fans took out their pitchforks and demanded the firing of coach Doc Rivers when the Milwaukee Bucks stumbled out of the gates with a 2-8 record.

The first person to shelter Rivers from the venom was none other than Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, who denied claims that he wanted the seasoned strategist to go.

The Bucks have righted the ship. They have won nine of their past 11 games, including back-to-back victories, to move to 13-11. They defeated the Orlando Magic 114-109 on Tuesday, advancing to the NBA Cup semifinals. They’re waiting to see who wins the matchup between the New York Knicks and the Atlanta Hawks.

While some have disregarded the NBA Cup, winning it would demonstrate the Bucks’ tenacity and unity despite their disastrous start to the season. As they say, victory transforms everything.

Ahead of the semifinals in Las Vegas, Antetokounmpo once again maintained that they’re not messing around.

“I’m very happy that we’re able to go to Vegas,” said the two-time MVP in a video posted by the NBA on X. “We have unfinished business. We’re going to have fun, we’re going to play good basketball, we’re going to compete.

“We’re not going just to go there, we’re going there to win games.”

“We have unfinished business… We are going there to win games.”

The Bucks also advanced to the semifinals of the inaugural in-season tournament last year but lost to the Indiana Pacers. Antetokounmpo was named to the All-NBA In-Season Tournament Team.

In their last 10 games, the eight-time All-Star averaged 33.2 points, including two 40-point outings, 10.2 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 1.5 blocks.

Antetokounmpo has scored 20 or more points on at least 50%shooting for 22 straight games-the longest streak to open a season in NBA history-according to a report from the Associated Press.