Rivers, whose last role was with the Philadelphia 76ers, argues a call with referee Tony Brothers
Nikola Jokic claimed his 14th triple-double of the season as the Denver Nuggets spoiled Doc Rivers’ debut as head coach for the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Serbian centre finished with 25 points, 16 rebounds and 12 assists in the 113-107 victory.
His 119th triple-double in regular season matches is the fourth-highest in NBA history.
Rivers has taken over at the Bucks after the club fired first-year coach Adrian Griffin on 23 January.
The Bucks, went 2-1 under interim coach Joe Prunty before Rivers’ opening game in charge were led by 29 points from Giannis Antetokounmpo, while Damian Lillard finished with 18 points. Jamal Murray had 35 for the winners.
Despite the loss, Rivers was encouraged by Milwaukee’s performance.
“Overall I was very happy,” he said. “That fight is there. That’s something really encouraging moving forward.”
In the top-of-the-table clash in the Western Conference, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 37-point display was in vain as the Oklahoma City Thunder fell 107-101 to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The two sides went into Monday’s game with identical 32-14 records having spent most of the season battling it out for first place in the West.
The game had 24 lead changes before Minnesota pulled away in the closing stages, outscoring the Thunder 34-24 in the fourth quarter.
Anthony Edwards topped the Wolves scoring with 27 points while Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 21. All five Minnesota starters finished in double digits.
Elsewhere, the Boston Celtics bounced back from their heavy defeat by the Los Angeles Clippers with a 118-112 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans.
The Celtics, who are top of the Western Conference, improved to 36-11 for the season courtesy of 28 points from Jayson Tatum, with Jaylen Brown adding 22 and Jrue Holiday 20.
..
