So much has been made out of the Milwaukee Bucks’ superstar duo of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard. As expected, these two had a relatively rough start to their partnership, which has taken significant improvements over the last couple of weeks or so.
The fact that the Bucks have won eight out of their last nine games is a clear testament to this fact.
Milwaukee Bucks Star Giannis Antetokounmpo on Khris Middleton-Damian Lillard Duo
Things were a little bit different on Tuesday against the Miami Heat, though. Down the stretch, it was a different duo that saved the day for Milwaukee. Damian Lillard and Khris Middleton stepped it up in crunch time, with both stars coming up with big plays to help lead Milwaukee to victory.
Giannis could not be happier.
“For me, it’s like heaven when you have two guys that can create their own shot and, down the stretch, I don’t have to make something happen and I can just be like the guy that sets the screen and rolls and kind of play the second side and play behind the defense,” Antetokounmpo said, via Eric Nehm of The Athletic. “It’s great. My whole career, it’s been that way. Past couple of years, Jrue (Holiday) and Khris was able to do that and now we have also have Khris and Dame that they can do that.”
It’s not as if Giannis got a night off on Tuesday, though. The Bucks needed all 33 of his points against the Heat, who still put up a formidable effort even without Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro in the mix. However, as Antetokounmpo said, it was great for him to take a bit of a step back on offense down the stretch.
“I think it kind of helps the flow of our offense,” Antetokounmpo said. “When we initiate our offense, it doesn’t always have to be Dame and Giannis, stay that way, pick and roll. We can go to Khris and Giannis, then it can be swung to Dame and Brook and then we can play from that. I feel like that’s when we are all playing as a team. The energy’s better, everybody’s moving, everybody’s touching the ball and then I think we can be more effective that way.”
The Bucks return to action on Thursday against the Chicago Bulls and it will be yet another opportunity for them to build on their already budding chemistry.
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