Damian Lillard is confident his relationship with Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo is growing stronger after the pair dismantled the Los Angeles Clippers.
Lillard had 35 points, seven rebounds and 11 assists, while Antetokounmpo finished with 34 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds as the Bucks beat the short-handed Clippers 124-117 on Sunday.
They turned on the style in the fourth quarter, with Antetokounmpo and Lillard playing a direct role in 31 consecutive points for the Bucks.
The duo are only the second pair of teammates to finish with at least 30 points and 10 assists in the same game since 1980.
"I think it's getting much better," said Lillard, who joined the Bucks from the Portland Trail Blazers last year.
"To start the season, I think a lot of people wanted it to just click and happen right away.
"But I think any time you put two guys together who have always been the decision-maker, always had their hands on the ball for years and years and years, it's going to take time for us to learn how to play with each other."
Sixteen of Lillard's points came in the final quarter, with Antetokounmpo stating the Bucks have been working on finishing strong down the stretch.
"It's how we work in practice," he said.
"We got a lot of good shots down the stretch. Tonight it worked, and it's something we're going to have to do moving forward."
The Bucks bounced back from back-to-back defeats, while the Clippers – who were without Paul George, Kawhi Leonard and Russell Westbrook – lost for the second time in the space of four games.
Coach Tyronn Lue, though, credited the Bucks' star performers.
"Those two guys, they're great players, and we understand that," Lue said.
"They had a good game. I thought Dame set the tone early and then took over the game late.
"Once he got going, it was hard to stop him. We tried to blitz, tried to do some different things, but he had it going and made some big shots."
Bucks star Lillard to miss Game 4 against the Pacers with Achilles injury
Already without two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Milwaukee Bucks won’t have Damian Lillard in the lineup for Game 4 of the team’s first-round playoff series against the Indiana Pacers on Sunday.
Lillard played nearly 45 minutes in Milwaukee's 121-118 overtime loss in Game 3 on Friday but was ineffective down the stretch after aggravating a lingering Achilles issue.
The defeat was the second straight in the series for the third-seeded Bucks after defeating No. 6 seed Indiana in Game 1.
Antetokounmpo has not played since straining his left calf on April 9 and remains out Sunday, meaning Milwaukee will be without its two leading scorers as it tries to avoid a 3-1 deficit in the series.
Antetokounmpo averaged 30.4 points this season with Lillard adding 24.3 per game. But with Antetokounmpo sidelined, Lillard averaged 32.3 points in the first three contests against the Pacers to pace Milwaukee.
Game 5 is scheduled for Tuesday.
Malone: Shoe mix-up not to blame for Nuggets' Game 4 loss
Michael Malone refused to blame a bizarre equipment mix-up for his Denver Nuggets' Game 4 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday.
Denver headed into the game with a 3-0 first-round series lead, but ahead of a Game 4 where they could have sealed their progression, some Nuggets players warmed up in flip-flops after a delay in their shoes arriving to the arena.
Following the equipment mix-up, the Nuggets fell to a 119-108 loss as LeBron James led the way for the Lakers with 30 points to keep his team in the series.
Despite the pre-match muddle, Malone says to blame that for the ensuing defeat would be a "reach".
"Is it ideal? No," Malone told reporters. "But hopefully we can figure that out and make sure it never happens again.
"If you want to dig into stuff and say, 'well, we lost because for some strange reason our players didn't have their shoes when they got here for their normal warm-ups, that we had guys out there shooting around with flip-flops'. Is it ideal? No. But I'm not an excuse guy. And I'm not going to point to the reason we got our butts kicked in the paint because shoes weren't here."
Denver had been forced to overturn double-digit deficits in all three of their series victories prior to Saturday's defeat, and Michael Porter Jr. again lamented his team's slow start while crediting the Lakers.
"We talked about getting off to a better start," Porter Jr. explained. "It takes a lot of energy to come back from these double-digit leads, down 20, down 15, whatever it is.
"Tonight they [Lakers] did a good job of sustaining it. Whenever we got within 10 or eight, it seemed like they made a 3-pointer or made a big shot. So credit to them."
Tatum points to Celtics' toughness as key to Game 3 win over Heat
Jayson Tatum believes his Boston Celtics team showed their toughness as they claimed a 104-84 Game 3 win over the Miami Heat on Saturday.
As the top seed in the Eastern Conference, Boston eased to victory in the opening match of the first-round series. However, the eighth-seed Heat hit back in Game 2, taking a 111-101 triumph to level the series.
Game 3 belonged to the Celtics, though, with a strong defensive display and a big performance from Tatum, who finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds, allowing Boston to once again get their noses in front ahead of Game 4.
In Tatum's view, the Celtics were able to match their ability with a strong mindset in Game 3 to help them regain control of the series.
"Everybody knows how talented we are," Tatum told reporters. "But can we be the tougher, harder-playing team?"
"If we can combine that with the talent, it's going to be hard to beat us.
"Can we start off every game, essentially, punching first instead of reacting? That's a test we have to be up for every single night."
The Heat hit 23 3-pointers in their Game 2 victory, but the Celtics' defensive display was a big improvement on Saturday, limiting the Heat to just 84 points.
Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra acknowledged the Celtics' much-improved performance in Game 3, though he still believes his team has the ability to haul themselves back into the series again.
"They were the more physical team," Spoelstra explained. "They bodied us [and] bullied us.
"We have enough to get the job done. We know we have to play hard, and we also have to play well."
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