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"They got confidence in me" - Bobby Portis praises teammates for recognizing his hot hand vs. the Phoenix Suns

"I got confidence. I got confidence in my coaches. They got confidence in me."

Jonas Panerio

© Michael McLoone-USA TODAY Sports

Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis has heard all the talk about his performance dip this season. But rather than respond with frustration or excuses, he has used it as motivation to improve. On Sunday against the Phoenix Suns, that hard work paid off. Portis came off the bench and put on a stellar performance, scoring 31 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in the Bucks’ 140-129 victory.

Hot streak

Portis entered the game with four minutes to go in the first and Milwaukee trailing, 20-18. He hit his first five shots to help the Bucks take a 39-36 lead. He continues his hot shooting streak in the second, scoring 13 more to push their lead to as many as 25 points. After the game, Bobby said he was in a zone, and there was nothing any defender could do to get him out of it.

“I be in my own zone, man. Try to block out all the naysayers. They been talking crazy about me all year long, trade him, all type of stuff. So I get in my own zone when I’m on the court, I’m just like that, man. Get back to who I used to be, go out there and play with confidence, shoot the ball, miss or make, come back the next day, be who I am. Not a whole lot of chitter-chatter about who I am, you feel me? Just trying to shut the naysayers up, make them believe. That’s all it is for real,” Portis said.

Teammates kept on feeding him

Bobby added it helps to have teammates and coaches have the utmost faith in him and his abilities. Sensing that Sunday afternoon’s game was Portis’ opportunity to shine, they kept passing him the ball and encouraging him to take shots.

“I got confidence. I got confidence in my coaches. They got confidence in me. They pour confidence into my teammates, pour confidence into me, and make it easy for me to go out there and just hoop. That’s all I’ve been trying to do the second half of the season, up my game each and every day,” Portis added.

Bucks guard Damian Lillard added that he and the rest of the team know what Portis is capable of. Seeing as Bobby had it going on Sunday, feeding him as much as they could was the right call.

“We all know that he’s a scorer, and he can fill it up,” Lillard said.

“He gets going, he can really get going and change the game. So, he made his first couple shots and I think as a team we saw it and we just fed him. Anytime he had an inch or he was the next guy, even if he was covered, we was throwing him the ball and he just kept it rolling and kept it rolling.”

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Jonas Panerio
JONAS PANERIO