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Fans Praise Return of ‘Playoff Dame’ After Masterful 35-point Half in Game 1 of Bucks vs. Pacers

Kristen Wong

Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
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His nickname is “Playoff Dame” for a reason.

Milwaukee Bucks’ Damian Lillard came to life in Game 1 of the first-round playoff series against the Indiana Pacers in Fiserv Forum.

The Bucks, who entered the game shorthanded without star Giannis Antetokounmpo, were lifted by the masterful shooting abilities of Lillard on Sunday night. In the first half alone, Lillard recorded 35 points, good for second-most in the first half of a playoff game since 1997. Only Kevin Durant scored more first-half points (38) in a 2019 playoff game against the Los Angeles Clippers.

In fact, Lillard nearly outscored the entire Pacers squad in those two quarters, as Indiana put up 42 points as a team. Lillard sank 6-of-10 threes while the Pacers went cold from beyond the arc, shooting 3-of-18 in the first half.

The NBA world rejoiced over the timely return of “Playoff Dame” and gave the eight-time All-Star his flowers.

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Kristen Wong
KRISTEN WONG

Kristen Wong is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. She has been a sports journalist since 2020. Before joining SI in November 2023, Wong covered four NFL teams as an associate editor with the FanSided NFL Network and worked as a staff writer for the brand’s flagship site. Outside of work, she has dreams of running her own sporty dive bar.

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