Lillard paves way in dramatic comeback
The Milwaukee Bucks are rolling. The vibes around the team are so good now that the team can even win against a top-tier NBA team without stars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton.
The Bucks still had Damian Lillard, though, and others came through with big plays as Milwaukee earned a dramatic, 113-106 comeback victory over the Los Angeles Clippers thanks to 41 points from Lillard on Monday night at Fiserv Forum.
The Bucks (40-21) are 6-0 since the all-star break, again looking like a team that can win a NBA championship.
“It means a lot, man,” said Bobby Portis, who had a huge game with 28 points and 16 rebounds off the bench. “Guys in that locker room have been working. Put the time in.
“Especially when guys go out, it's like next-man-up mentality. Especially in the NBA, guys aren't going to play 82 games. So at some point, your opportunity is going to come. The biggest thing about that is just staying ready and being ready for moment. I think guys came in and made a great impact.”
Giannis Antetokounmpo ruled out before the game
Middleton has been sideline since Feb. 6 with a left ankle sprain.
Antetokounmpo was first listed on the injury report as questionable with left Achilles tendinitis. Then he cut short his pregame routine when he felt some pain.
During Bucks head coach Doc Rivers' pregame media availability, he ruled Antetokounmpo out.
“It's been on and off for the last two or three games,” Rivers said of Antetokounmpo's Achilles. “This morning he actually looked good.”
Damian Lillard has big first quarter
Lillard was going to have to carry the Bucks offense without his fellow stars.
It was his night from the start, as he scored 15 points on 5-for-7 shooting in the first quarter. Lillard finished 12 for 22, plus 13 for 13 from the free-throw line.
When Rivers became the Bucks coach in January, he added more offensive sets that Lillard used to run with the Portland Trail Blazers and that has made the guard more comfortable.
“It's helped a lot,” Lillard said. “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 (when Rivers coached the Clippers) 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.'”
Bobby Portis, AJ Green make big plays as Bucks rally
It looked like the Clippers might run away with the game when they went up 15 points midway through the third quarter.
But the Bucks started drawing fouls and had a parade to the free-throw line. Milwaukee got within 81-73 heading into the fourth when Malik Beasley knocked down a three-pointer.
In the fourth quarter, it was a scrappy lineup of Lillard, Portis, Pat Beverley, AJ Green and Brook Lopez that helped turn the tide.
The Bucks made six consecutive defensive stops to key a 15-0 run that flipped a six-point deficit into a 105-96 advantage with two minutes left.
“The whole second half, we were much better,” Rivers said of his team's defense. “We went zone a lot in the second half. We switched everything.
“Honestly, it's a make-or-miss league as well. They missed some shots they normally make. Maybe their timing was off because of the zone. I thought it did help, for sure.
“Then, I thought, our execution offensively was unbelievable down the stretch. We got the ball to the guys that we wanted to get the ball. When they trapped, we moved the ball. We kept the game simple.”
Lillard is known for going into “Dame Time” in clutch situations. He had some big shots in this one, including a threepointer that brought the Bucks within 96-93 and also the go-ahead layup through contact on a fast break.
But Green, Beverley and Portis all chipped in with clutch baskets as well.
Green took advantage of getting to play all 12 minutes of the fourth quarter.
“He's not scared of the moment,” Rivers said. “You can see that. I thought because we were going to start posting (Portis and Lopez against the Clippers' smaller lineup), we needed another shooter out there. And that's why we put AJ in.”
Portis scored nine consecutive points for the Bucks to seal the win.
“Any time you're doing something competitive and it's a team thing, you want to look over and see that competitive spirit and that fight in somebody,” Lillard said. “And that confidence. That's what (Portis) has.
“He has real confidence in himself. He's a competitor. He thinks he's the best player on the floor and that's why he's become the player he's become in this league.”
Beverley finished with 12 points and played his typical harassing defense.
“Pat is somebody who knows who he is,” Lillard said. “He knows what he brings to the table.
“There's a lot of guys in our league that, if they had that, we would probably see a lot better from them. He knows who he is. He knows what he brings to the table. His edge. He's an instigator. He's talking. He believes in what he brings to a team. That belief is more than half the battle.”
All those performances added up to one of the more satisfying victories of the season for the home fans among the 17,875 people at Fiserv Forum.
“One thing about our fans, they were unbelievable,” Rivers said. “We're down 15 and there's no Giannis. There's no Khris.
“A lot of fans go home at that point. Our guys kind of hung in there and their noise and their spirit really helped us tonight.”
Five numbers
100 The Clippers scored over 100 points, ending the Bucks' streak of holding opponents under that mark at four.
6:28 The Bucks spent essentially the last 6 1⁄ minutes of the third quarter in
2 the foul bonus
489 Though Antetokounmp didn't play, when the Bucks acknowledged his record 489 victories with the Bucks, he gave a wave to the crowd from the bench
8 Beasley missed his first eight shots before knocking down a three-pointer
1 Beverley made his first start since being acquired by the Bucks