Bucks Damian Lillard - PHOTO BY ROB FERGUSON/USA TODAY SPORTS/REUTERS CON
MILWAUKEE, WI (WSAU) – Following the Milwaukee Bucks victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday, Bucks head coach Adrian Griffin praised the team’s new superstar’s clutch plays.
Griffin stated, “You just got a sense during the game, he wasn’t going to let us lose,” according to CBS News Philadelphia.
Lillard went 17–17 from the charity stripe to cap his Bucks debut with 39 points on 45 percent shooting. He also contributed four assists and eight rebounds.
His 39 points set a Bucks franchise record for a scoring total in a debut, surpassing Terry Cummings’ 34 points in his first game with the team in 1984.
When asked why he gave Lillard the ball for the final possession, Giannis Antetokounmpo said, “For me, I’m trying to win,” he said following a 23-point, 13-rebound performance. “Obviously, like he has the hot hand. He has the team going. We got back in the game. At that point when I gave him the ball, we were up two or something, but at the end, he had the hot hand and you just gotta keep feeding him. Like what works, you gotta keep on going to what works. Obviously, it was Dame that was working at the time.”
DAME TIME ⌚️ pic.twitter.com/D5uUK8SqYd
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) October 27, 2023
Following the win, Lillard spoke about playing his first game in Milwaukee as a Buck saying, “It was definitely different,” he said (via CBS). “I think I’ve been in an environment where I come in the arena and know everybody that works in the arena. When I get on the court, I look around and I even recognize the fans that have been there year after year after year. It’s just a super, super familiar environment that I’d been in.”
Lillard’s next opportunity to help lead the Bucks to victory and become more acquainted with his new surroundings comes on Sunday when Milwaukee faces the Atlanta Hawks. The game begins at 6 p.m. CST on Bally Sports.
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