© Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
Damian Lillard on Milwaukee's first triumph vs. Indiana this season: "A quality win"
The Indiana Pacers have proven to be a demanding customer for the Milwaukee Bucks this season. That’s why when Milwaukee defeated Indiana via a convincing 140-126 rout on Wednesday night, it looked like the Bucks have gotten the monkey off their back.
A meaningful win
Damian Lillard admitted that the 14-point win was not an ordinary triumph.
“Obviously, it’s a lot of games in the season, so you don’t wanna put too much into just one team or one game, but I think this is a team that has given us troubles,” said Lillard.
Coming into the contest, the Pacers have defeated the Bucks twice already this season. One of the wins came during the NBA In-Season Tournament semifinal. In their previous duels, Lillard explained that Milwaukee had trouble dealing with Indiana’s speed and outside sniping.
“In those first two games where we had a lead in both games or an opportunity to kind of put them away or extend the lead…we didn’t because they play fast. They got shooters,” Lillard said.
Lillard scored 21 in the third meeting, but Giannis Antetokounmpo was there to deliver the goods for the Bucks as he erupted for a career-high and a franchise-record 64 points.
“They are a handful to deal with out there. So I think it was just a quality win for us. I thought we started the game pretty solid and just how we played over the course of the game I thought it was good,” said Lillard.
A super special night
There were some stretches where the Bucks were awful, but Lillard liked how the team was able to adjust.
“Like any other game, we had our moments where we had some letdowns and they had opportunities to get on the run but I thought it was really a solid game for us against a team that has given us a lot of troubles,” Dame said.
It was a triple celebration for the Bucks as aside from the win and Giannis’ career-performance, Lillard was also able to move up to fifth spot on the NBA All-time three-point list.
“Great game, great effort. I thought we really played a good game tonight from start to finish. Some milestones, Giannis’ career-high, Dame fifth on all-time threes in the entire NBA, super special night, super proud of our guys,” coach Adrian Griffin said.
