Lillard produces historic day
His 31-point, 16-assist performance leads way
The last time Giannis Antetokounmpo was a late scratch before a Milwaukee Bucks game, his team lost by 40 points in Cleveland on Jan. 17. What a difference two months can make, as the Bucks handled the Phoenix Suns, 140-129, Sunday afternoon at Fiserv Forum after Antetokounmpo was ruled out less than an hour before tip-off.
Buoyed by the return of Khris Middleton, the Bucks (44-24) led by as many as 25 points in the first half and were led by a blistering shooting performance by Bobby Portis and a 31-point, 16-assist afternoon by point guard Damian Lillard.
It was the first 30-point, 15-assist game in Bucks history and tied a career-high in handouts for Lillard. It was the fourth time in his career he had 16 in a game.
Milwaukee is 9-2 when Lillard has at least 10 assists. Portis tied a season-high with 31 points and he pulled down 10 rebounds.
Phoenix (39-29), which was ending a four-game Eastern Conference road trip, stayed in the game and whittled the deficit down to six late in the third quarter.
The Suns were led by Bradley Beal’s 28 points. Grayson Allen (25), Devin Booker (23), Royce O’Neale (16) and Eric Gordon (10) all reached double figures for Phoenix. Star Kevin Durant was held to 11 points on 4 of 10 shooting.
Bobby Portis, Damian Lillard key Bucks win
A smile on his face, Lillard shouted “Damn, Bob!” as Portis pounded his chest and whipped the Fiserv Forum crowd into his special kind of frenzy following his fifth three-pointer of the first half that forced a Suns timeout with 6 minutes, 3
seconds left in the second quarter.
Lillard assisted on back-to-back Portis triples that broke Suns in a 30-second span, giving Milwaukee a double-digit lead they pushed to as many as 24 in the first half.
Portis scored 25 points in just 12:44 of play, making 10 of his 13 shots, including a 5-for-5 mark from behind the three-point line.
The Bucks' reserve big man didn't check into the game until 4:14 remained in the first quarter with the Suns leading 2018. Portis proceeded to make all five of his shots and score 12 points in that brief stretch, including a three-pointer with 29 seconds left to give the Bucks a 39-36 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Milwaukee head coach Doc Rivers stayed with the hot hand, and Portis added another 13 in the second quarter and the Bucks led by as many as 25.
But the veteran Suns did not fold – and the Bucks couldn't finish them off – early in the third quarter and Phoenix cut the deficit to 95-87 with 3:34 left in the third. Then, Lillard took over. He flew in for an offensive rebound and a basket off a Pat Beverley missed three-pointer, then converted a three-point play of his own to give the Bucks a 100-87 lead.
The Suns cut it to 100-94 with 90 seconds left in the third, but Lillard scored seven straight points to end the frame – including a buzzer-beating logo threepointer to give Milwaukee breathing room at 109-94 heading into the fourth.
The pair then did damage together in the final quarter, with Portis scoring six more and Lillard hitting a 3. Both assisted on Malik Beasley three-pointers, too.
Beasley finished with 17 points and Brook Lopez added 10.
Khris Middleton returns for Bucks
The three-time all-star returned after a 16-game absence due to a severe left ankle sprain suffered on Feb. 6, and Middleton made an immediate impact on both ends of the floor. He played 26 minutes and scored 22 points on 8 of 15 shooting and handed out seven assists.
On the defensive end, he moved well in defending Suns guards Bradley Beal and Grayson Allen and star forward Kevin Durant. Following Bucks practice on Saturday, Middleton had said being able to react to an opponent without issue was one of the final hurdles he had to overcome to get back into a game.
Jae Crowder sparks Bucks in first half
The Bucks led 66-53 with 3 minutes, 36 seconds left in the first half when Suns forward Kevin Durant put the ball on the floor to try and drive past Bucks forward Jae Crowder. Durant had the ball low, however, and Crowder grabbed hold – tightly – spinning Durant off his feet. Crowder wrested the ball out and hit the court himself, with the Bucks recovering. As his team streaked up the court, Crowder lay prone and slapped the hardwood with both hands. He got into a crouch and watched as Pat Beverley drilled a threepointer, giving the Bucks a 69-53 lead and forcing a Suns timeout – during which Crowder got up and quietly put up three fingers toward the opposing bench.
Crowder started his 17th straight game for the Bucks, this time in place of an injured Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Marquette University alumnus helped the Bucks keep pace with the Suns in a highscoring first quarter, scoring eight points. He then helped the Bucks tighten up defensively, allowing them to take a doubledigit lead in the first half.
Did you notice?
Lillard made a poor pass in the back court early in the third quarter, and Kevin Durant poked it away for a steal. For a moment, it appeared as if Durant would get a free run to the rim for a fastbreak dunk but Lillard quickly hit the gas and knocked the ball out of bounds. He told his teammates “my fault” for the bad pass. And though the Suns scored coming out of the inbound, it was a hustle play by one of the team's leaders even though Milwaukee was up 25 points at the time.
Giannis Antetokounmpo misses game with hamstring injury
Antetokounmpo went through his pregame routine normally on Sunday and in his pre-game press conference Bucks head coach Doc Rivers believed Antetokounmpo would be available to play with a sore left hamstring. But, Antetokounmpo was a scratch about 45 minutes before tipoff, and he did not join the team on the bench as he usually does when not playing. He had begun the day questionable to play.
The last time Antetokounmpo was a relatively late scratch was on Jan. 17 in Cleveland with a right shoulder bruise, and the Bucks were routed by 40 points by the Cavaliers.
After practice on Saturday Rivers said that while he loves heroes, he likes them better in May and June and wanted his star to rest if it was needed.
After the Bucks' win over Philadelphia on Thursday, Antetokounmpo acknowledged that he didn't want to “mess with” soft tissue injuries in his legs and that it took him a while to feel good enough to play an evening game. He said he first felt something in the muscle during the Bucks win over the Los Angeles Clippers on March 10.
He was first listed with the injury head of the 76ers game.
“I had to warm up,” he said of the prep to get ready to go against the 76ers. “There was no shape or form I could compete the game if I wasn't 100% warmed up from the game going on. No, it takes a little bit to get your balance and get your steps, but my body was warm. My body was ready to go. You don't play with stuff like that. You have to be on. There's other times your body might feel good and you kind of warm up through the game. This wasn't one of those games. I had to be a thousand percent ready to compete this game.”