The Milwaukee Bucks ended their four-game Christmas road trip with a big win on Thursday night against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Damian Lillard played a key role in the win yet again, finishing with 31 points on 9-of-16 shooting, to go along with two triples, two rebounds, and four assists in 34 minutes of action.
Thanks to Dame’s strong play, the Bucks have now gone 3-1 in this recent road spell as they finally head back home to Milwaukee.
Damian Lillard, Milwaukee Bucks Went Off in Second Half
After a strong start to the game, the Cavs took a 59-52 lead at the break. The Bucks knew they would have to dig deep in the second half to secure a road win at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, and so that’s exactly what they did.
Milwaukee blitzed their opponents in the third quarter, outscoring the Cavs, 40-21. From that point on, the Bucks had control of the game.
When asked after the game what sparked their second-half surge, Lillard said that the team came together at halftime to encourage each other:
“We came into the locker room and we just kinda addressed that we had done a lot of things well,” he said.
Lillard, who scored 24 of his 31 points in the second half, knew that the Cavs were pushing them to the edge and that they needed to come out with much more conviction in the third period:
“We just told ourselves it’s a game,” he said. “We played some of the teams at the bottom of the Eastern Conference at home, a couple of the teams that are at the bottom of the West — all teams that we respect. But this is a different caliber of a game for us.
“It was good for us. And that’s what we said. It’s good for us. It’s a good game, on the road, end of a road trip, a team challenging us. We gotta show our character. I thought we came out in the third quarter and established that.”
Once again, the Bucks showed their resolve against a determined Cavs side that was intent on defending its home court. As Dame said, it was another good test for Milwaukee.
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