Lillard fires 45 to spark Bucks over Pistons
WASHINGTON: Damian Lillard scored a season-high 45 points and Giannis Antetokounmpo added 31 to lead the Milwaukee Bucks over NBA doormat Detroit 141-135 on Saturday (Sunday in Manila).
Lillard, who arrived from Portland in a pre-season trade, had 11 assists and made 12-of-22 shots from the floor, 5-of-11 from 3-point range, and hit all 16 of his free throw attempts.
“When the game started, I felt like I had a good warm-up, a good rhythm to the game,” Lillard said. “Saw a couple shots go in and I just felt good.”
Lillard became the first player in Bucks history with 40 or more points, 10 or more 10 assists and five 3-pointers in a single game and did so three nights after Milwaukee was thumped 135-95 at Cleveland.
“I knew it was an important game. I picked my spots. I moved the ball when I needed to move it. I attacked when I needed to attack,” Lillard said.
“I’ve been slowly getting back to how I play more naturally and tonight was one of those nights.”
Greek star Antetokounmpo added 10 rebounds, nine assists, two steals and a blocked shot while Brook Lopez had 19 points and 10 rebounds for visiting Milwaukee.
The Bucks improved to 29-13, moving within three games of NBA overall leader Boston for the Eastern Conference lead.
Alec Burks scored 33 points off the bench, hitting 7-of-14 3-point shots, to lead Detroit, which fell to a league-worst 4-38.
“We didn’t allow them to move around as freely. We had more pressure on them,” Lillard said. “We played with more physicality.”
Meanwhile, Chicago Bulls star Zach LaVine is out indefinitely because of a sprained right ankle.
LaVine missed Saturday’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies, and coach Billy Donovan did not have a timeline for his return. The two-time All-Star rolled his ankle in the third quarter of Thursday’s win at Toronto. He returned for a four-minute stint later in the period and played two minutes in the fourth quarter of that game.
“I don’t know what’s it’s going to end up being. It’s going to be how he responds” Donovan said. “He certainly has swelling in his ankle. That’s pretty clear. Like I said, he’s dealt with this before. I don’t want to put a timeline on him.”
Donovan was not sure if LaVine would accompany the team on a three-game trip to Phoenix, the Los Angeles Lakers and Portland that starts on Monday.