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"That's what I'm here for" - Damian Lillard reacts to his game-winning triple vs. Kings

It was a case of Dame doing Dame things.

Matthew Dugandzic

© Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
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The Milwaukee Bucks were just seconds away from a devastating loss, but Damian Lillard refused to lose.

“That’s what I’m here for,” Lillard said after sinking a buzzer-beating triple that helped the Milwaukee Bucks nose out the Sacramento Kings in overtime, 143-142, on Sunday night.

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Ice in his veins

The Bucks were down by two points in the final five seconds of overtime, but the 12-year veteran didn’t panic by sinking the game-winning triple from about 30 feet in what was another epic “Dame Time” moment.

Dame’s booming triple saved the Bucks from a crushing defeat as they failed to finish off the Kings in regulation despite taking a 125-120 lead with only 52 seconds left in regulation.

“It feels great. Just in my experience in the league, it always comes after a few tough moments, and tonight, I thought I had some opportunities to hit some big shots; it didn’t fall, but the team kept fighting,” Dame said.

While he was the one who delivered the game-winning shot, Lillard was all praises for teammate Brook Lopez, who dropped a crucial three-pointer before Dame’s game-winning trey.

Lopez sank a triple that cut Sacramento’s lead to just one, 141-140 with 11.5 seconds left. De’Aaron Fox split his free throws in the next play, setting the stage for Lillard’s booming three-point bomb.

“I thought the biggest shot of the night was Brook’s three in the corner just to open up that opportunity,” said Dame, who finished with a team-high 29 points, eight assists, and four blocks.

A character game for Milwaukee

After Fox’s missed free throw, Dame inbounded the ball but quickly got it back from Lopez. Lillard perfectly read the situation, and the Bucks escaped with their 28th win in the season.

“I saw it was like four or five seconds, down two. They started scrambling a little bit. Brook flashed to the ball, and once I saw that open space, I was like, 'This is the space that I live in, the end of the game, an opportunity to come up big.' I missed a couple of shots, and I shot my best shot on the last one of the game,” Lillard said.

Thanks to Dame's heroics, Milwaukee snatched a third-straight win after losing two in a row. The Bucks played the back end of a back-to-back and were without Khris Middleton. That’s why, for Dame, it was a character game for Milwaukee.

“I think it says a lot. We had some tough moments throughout the game where we had opportunities to extend our lead, but we didn’t. I think, on the second night of a back-to-back, our opportunity to make excuses say, 'We are tired, you know they are a tough team, they play fast, unpredictable,' and we just showed our resilience, we showed our toughness. It wasn’t just one guy doing everything, we kind of collectively gave ourselves a chance and pulled this one out,” Dame said. 

Damian Lillard's buzzer-beating triple lifts the Milwaukee Bucks over the Sacramento Kings

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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.