After keeping the game close in the first half, the New York Knicks just did not know what hit them in the second half of Tuesday’s In-Season Tournament quarterfinal showdown against the Milwaukee Bucks. The Bucks just shifted to another gear in the second half, en route to outscoring their opponents 71-50 in the final two quarters.
Thanks to their second-half barrage, the Bucks were able to secure a 146-122 blowout win against the Knicks to advance to the next round of the IST.
Damian Lillard Speaks Out on Milwaukee Bucks’ Lopsided Victory
If you ask Bucks superstar Damian Lillard, he believes that his team could have actually scored more points than they did on the evening. Ruthless as he is, Dame is adamant that the final score would have been more lopsided if only the Bucks were more efficient with their shots:
“We left a lot of points on the board, too,” Lillard told reporters, via Eric Nehm of The Athletic. “We missed free throws. We missed some shots in the paint.”
For his part, Dame finished with 28 points on a highly efficient 8-of-13 from the field. He went 5-of-7 from his attempts from deep, while also sinking seven out of his eight attempts from the line. The seven-time All-Star rounded out his impressive performance with three rebounds, seven assists, a steal, and a block in 34 minutes of play.
‘Best Offensive Game’ of the Year
Dame was very impressed by his team’s overall performance, though. In fact, he believes that this was Milwaukee’s best outing of the season on the offensive end:
“I thought this was probably our best offensive game (of the season),” Lillard said. “This could have easily been a 160, 165-point game. That doesn’t mean we’re going to turn into a team that does that every night, but I do think we’ve got that type of explosiveness. We can’t depend on having these types of nights all the time, but it’s … a look at the kind of nights we can have offensively sometimes.”
As always, Dame is just keeping it real. Tuesday’s offensive explosion was a sight to behold, but Lillard is well aware of the fact that they won’t be this hot every single night. As he said, this was a preview of what the Bucks are capable of when they’re on they’re game.
Let this be a warning for the rest of the NBA.
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