The Milwaukee Bucks got Giannis Antetokounmpo back on Saturday after a one-game injury layoff. The former back-to-back MVP was forced to sit out on Wednesday as the Bucks suffered a humiliating blowout loss at the hands of the Cleveland Cavaliers, and it goes without saying that Milwaukee was glad to have their talisman back in the fold on Saturday night.
Antetokounmpo looked fine despite dealing with a shoulder injury, nearly finishing the game with another triple-double as he led the Bucks to a hard-fought 141-125 victory in Detroit.
Damian Lillard Comments on Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Return for Milwaukee Bucks
Giannis looked great in his return to action and it didn’t really look like his shoulder was bothering him. The seven-time All-Star amassed 31 points on 10-of-16 shooting, 10 rebounds, nine assists, two steals, and a block in 38 minutes of action.
It was Damian Lillard, however, who stole the show for the Bucks. The seven-time All-NBA point guard torched the Pistons with a game-high and a season-high 45 points on 12-of-22 from the field, with six boards, 11 dimes, a steal, and five 3-pointers on the evening.
After the game, Lillard spoke out on his mentality against Detroit. Dame also revealed that Antetokounmpo wasn’t a hundred percent, which required Lillard to step up for his team even more:
“I know how these kind of games can be,” Lillard said, via Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “You’re playing the same team two times in a row and in the first half they was believing and playing really well and shooting the ball well. I knew it was Giannis’ first game back and he was a little winded at times, so I just wanted to be a little more assertive. The ball went in a couple times in the third and I was like, I’m going to keep the foot on the gas and try to stay on the run and I did.”
Lillard knows exactly what his team needed from him against the Pistons — especially with Giannis still nursing a shoulder issue — and he answered the call magnificently.
Antetokounmpo still hasn’t gotten over the injury yet, so we can probably expect another massive performance from Dame on Monday in their rematch against the Pistons in Detroit.
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