The Milwaukee Bucks made amends for their loss against the Phoenix Suns on February 6 by scoring a 140-129 victory at the Fiserv Forum on Sunday. The Bucks did not have the services of Giannis Antetokounmpo (hamstring) available in this one too, which made the win all the sweeter for an undermanned Milwaukee side.
Damian Lillard took over with Giannis sidelined as he proved once again how he’s more than capable of carrying his team to victory.
Milwaukee Bucks Star Damian Lillard Sounds Off on Epic Performance Vs. Suns
Lillard knew that he had to step his game up with Giannis sidelined. After the game, the eight-time All-Star spoke to the press to share his mindset heading into the contest. He finished with 31 points on 10-of-19 shooting, four triples, five rebounds, 16 assists (matches his career-high), and a steal in 39 minutes of play.
“I just wanted to come out and be in attack mode, really,” Lillard said, via Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “I didn’t really think to myself I have to score a bunch of points., I just knew I had to be a problem for the defense, getting into the paint, getting them in rotations, making them have to help and that’s just how I played. I kept making the right play and guys just made shots.
“I give a lot of credit to the guys’ shot-making. Even though I created the plays, you don’t always make shots at that clip and we did tonight.”
Giannis is likely to return in Milwaukee’s next game, which is on Wednesday against the Boston Celtics, but I’m certain that even the former back-to-back MVP himself is extremely proud of Lillard’s iconic performance against the Suns.
As Dame said, though, he did not do it all by his lonesome. Bobby Portis went off in this one as well, logging 31 points off the bench, while Khris Middleton announced his return with a big bang by logging 22 points in his first game back since early February.
At the end of the day, however, there’s no denying that Sunday’s victory would not have been possible had it not been for the heroics of Dame Lillard.
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