76ers vs. Bucks: Damian Lillard Puts on Scoring Clinic in Debut
It’s Dame Time in Milwaukee, officially.
While Damian Lillard had some opportunities to test out his role on his new squad during the preseason, he got his first real set of action with the Milwaukee Bucks during their season opener against the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday night.
Anybody tuned in to watch the former Portland Trail Blazers great in a different uniform for the first time got a real show, as Lillard proved to be just too much for the Sixers on Thursday.
It took time for Lillard to get settled in at first. During his first eight minutes of action, the star guard hit on just one of his three attempts from the field, scoring four of Milwaukee’s 30 points in the opening quarter.
Then came the second quarter. Perhaps a young Jaden Springer set the seasoned veteran off with his highlight block in the paint on the seven-time All-Star. Once Springer made his highlight defensive play on the 33-year-old star, a motivated Lillard got comfortable and couldn’t be stopped.
During his next nine minutes of action, Lillard hit four of his seven shots, knocking down a couple of threes. He also went 7-7 from the charity stripe to score more than half of Milwaukee’s second-quarter points. Lillard went into the intermission with a game-high 21 points in 17 minutes.
“Dame is Dame,” said Bucks head coach Adrian Griffin after the game. “We knew what we were getting when we got him.”
During his time in Portland, Lillard established himself as a dominant player in crunch time during big matchups. While Thursday’s outing was just one of 82 for the Bucks, Milwaukee was out to prove something after they came up short in the first round of the 2023 NBA Playoffs, getting knocked out by the last-seeded team.
Lillard helped the Bucks put the Sixers and the rest of the Eastern Conference on notice. While the Sixers came out in the third quarter and immediately turned the game around after Lillard’s first-half rally, a second-half scoring burst would soon be on its way.
In the fourth quarter alone, Lillard checked in for ten minutes, launching seven shots, five of them from beyond the arc. He generated six points from the perimeter, two from in the paint, and six from the free-throw line. In a fourth quarter that featured two lead changes, Lillard’s 14 points were enough to help the Bucks edge out the 76ers.
“He's a rhythm player,” Griffin added, discussing Lillard. “He had his legs under him. He got to the free throw line, and that was incredible."
The Sixers dropped their first game of the 2023-2024 season with a one-point loss. Lillard’s first look in a Bucks uniform resulted in a 39-point showing on 45 percent shooting from the field. He also had eight rebounds and four assists to add to his stat line for the night.
Lillard and the Bucks will take on the Sixers next in late February for a matinee matchup in South Philadelphia. By then, both teams should have a really good idea of where they stand in the Eastern Conference race, but the first impression on Thursday proved that Lillard would be a tough piece to stop when the games count more later on down the line.
