Bucks Zone

Damian Lillard overcomes 'weird feeling' facing his former team for the first time

Dame drops 31 points on the team that drafted him 11 years ago.

Matthew Dugandzic

© Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
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Damian Lillard finally got to play against the team that drafted him 11 years ago, and the veteran shooter admitted feeling uneasy in the early part of the contest.

Lillard disclosed it took a while before he got over the "weird feeling" of going up against the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday at the Fiserv Forum.

"Once I walked in, I saw a lot of familiar faces, I thought about going in the visitors locker room for a second, but I was like, man, this a little bit different," said Lillard. "When we got on the court, I saw everybody, and it's a weird feeling. But once we started playing, I got over it quick."

Lillard torments old team

With Lillard firing in 31 points, the Milwaukee Bucks went on to defeat the Blazers, 108-102, in come-from-behind fashion.

It was the biggest comeback win in the season so far after the Bucks overhauled a 26-point third-quarter deficit. It was also Milwaukee's largest rally win for over a decade, or since they defeated the Chicago Bulls, 93-92, by erasing a 27-point deficit on November 26th, 2012.

A certified scoring machine

With his total output, Lillard became the 15th player in NBA history to score 30 points against 30 different franchises, according to Elias Sports Bureau.

Portland selected Lillard as the sixth overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft.

His tenure with the Blazers ended when a major offseason deal sent him to the Bucks in exchange for fellow veteran playmaker Jrue Holiday.

Dame and his former team will meet for the second and final time this season when Milwaukee visits Portland on January 31st next year in what could be an emotional return to the old home turf by the seven-time All-Star.

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Matthew Dugandzic
MATTHEW DUGANDZIC

Matthew finished his bachelor's degree in Economics (Management) at the University of Split and got his master's degree in the same field at the University of Zadar. Whether it is playing the game as an undersized 6'3'' power forward or simply watching it, Matthew can't get enough of it. After all, he has been an avid NBA fan since the 2000s. But don't get him wrong, as Matthew still loves the old-school NBA and is a true student of the game. From on-court moments to off-court stuff, whether it's about the stars of modern-day basketball or legends of the game, Matthew covers every category of the NBA world and basketball in general, as long as it makes for an engaging and exciting story.