Milwaukee Bucks point guard Damian Lillard needed to carry the team on Monday night with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton sidelined due to injury. Lillard exploded for 41 points, grabbed four rebounds, recorded four assists, and recorded one steal in a 113-106 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.
Milwaukee trailed Los Angeles for most of the game and they were down by as many as 15 points in this one. With the win, the Bucks have now won six consecutive games and they improved to 41-21 on the year. They are currently the two seed in the Eastern Conference.
As for the Clippers, they dropped to 39-21 on the year and they are the fourth seed in the Western Conference. This is a game that they should have never lost, especially since Milwaukee didn’t have Giannis Antetokounmpo (Achilles injury) or Khris Middleton (Ankle injury).
Since Doc Rivers became the head coach of the Bucks, they have been using more sets that Lillard utilized in Portland. Rivers told Gabe Stoltz, the Milwaukee Bucks beat reporter for brewhoop by saying:
“I think for a significant part of the year, it was just trying to find my way. Trying to find my spaces where I would have opportunity. I just think because I played so many times against Doc in the West, and he had to scout against me. And when he came in, he was just, like, ‘You guys don’t run this? You guys don’t run that? That was stuff we hated to guard against you.”
The Milwaukee Bucks Will Need Damian Lillard Moving Forward
Lillard stepped up in a big way on Monday night when the Bucks needed scoring down the stretch without two key players. They brought him in here not only to win games but to also win another NBA Championship. That is the only thing that is missing in his NBA career.
He also didn’t score over 20 points in the last two games before Monday night’s matchup with the Los Angeles Clippers. They are a legit title contender and for them to come back and win that game was toughness. Lillard will need to be the man for the Bucks in games down the stretch when it comes to playoff time for them.