NBA

Bucks beating Clippers without Giannis 'shows who we're becoming', says Lillard

By Sports Desk March 05, 2024 594

Damian Lillard cited the Milwaukee Bucks' performance without Giannis Antetokounmpo as proof of the team they are becoming.

The Bucks won 113-106 on Monday, despite star man Antetokounmpo missing out due to left Achilles tendinitis.

Despite trailing by 15 points in the second half, the Bucks rallied, with Lillard finishing with 41 points while Bobby Portis contributed 28 and 16 rebounds.

Milwaukee have now won six straight games as they settle in under new coach Doc Rivers.

"It just shows who we're becoming," Lillard said.

"Nobody talked about who wasn't playing before the game. That just shows what's expected, the standard that we're starting to have, and who we're becoming as a team.

"We just trusted each other. Defensively, we've trusted our communication. We've depended on the next guy to do his job, and the same offensively.

"Because our team is seeing the results that we're getting from playing that way, even when it's not going our way at points in the game, we trust it. It's just coming back in our favour."

Portis added: "Guys needed to step up in their roles.

"I just feel like it was one of those times for me just to step up and be a little more aggressive than I probably was before."

Antetokounmpo has only missed three games this season, though Rivers is unsure whether the two-time NBA MVP will be fit to feature against the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday.

"It's been on and off the last two or three games," Rivers said of Antetokounmpo. "This morning he actually looked good, we'll just figure it out from there."

The Clippers, who will be without Russell Westbrook until April after he fractured his hand against the Washington Wizards last week, have now lost for the third time in five games, though they remain well-placed in the upper echelons of the Western Conference.

"When they went to that zone, I think we got a little jump shot-happy rather than keep attacking the basket and getting into the paint," Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said of his team's failure to hold onto their lead.

"I think we were in the bonus pretty early in the fourth quarter. They did a good job of going to the zone, and then we didn't handle it well."

Last modified on Tuesday, 05 March 2024 04:24
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