Milwaukee Bucks point guard Damian Lillard played his first game against the Portland Trail Blazers in Portland, Oregon since getting traded this past offseason. He scored 25 points for the Bucks even though they lost to the Trail Blazers 119-116.
Lillard also grabbed six rebounds, seven assists, and recorded one steal. He also received a video tribute from the Portland Trail Blazers. It was a very touching and emotional night for him to return home.
This Trail Blazers tribute video for Damian Lillard is amazing 🔥
(via @trailblazers)pic.twitter.com/W3KdctPXiv
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) February 1, 2024
With the loss, the Bucks drop to 32-16 on the season and the Trail Blazers improve to 15-33. Milwaukee is now 0-2 with Doc Rivers coaching this basketball team and it will take time to adjust to him. They are currently the two seed at the moment in the Eastern Conference, but the New York Knicks and the Cleveland Cavaliers are slowly sneaking up on them.
Lillard told ESPN’s Jamal Collier before the matchup against the Trail Blazers by saying:
“I still have games and times where I feel like, man, I’m still kind of ironing it out. The thing that I think about all the time is that we’ve got to give ourselves grace to know that’s what the regular season is for. Especially with a trade this big and this much newness is happening.“
Damian Lillard Was Not the Leading Scorer for the Milwaukee Bucks Against the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday Night
With Lillard having a nice performance on Wednesday night against his former team, Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks in scoring with 27 points. He also grabbed eight rebounds, recorded four assists, blocked one shot, and recorded three steals.
Khris Middleton also scored 21 points, grabbed two rebounds, and recorded eight assists for the Bucks. It is a good thing that Damian Lillard, Antetokounmpo, and Middleton were the top three scorers on Wednesday night against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Look who’s back, back again
Dame is back, tell a friend pic.twitter.com/zADzpbdy8a
— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) February 1, 2024
It was a touching night for Lillard returning to the Trail Blazers arena. The Portland Trail Blazers franchise loved him and he had a lot of love for them. However, now it’s time for Lillard and the Bucks to focus on winning games again.
