Damian Lillard efficiently accomplished his first ever recreation as a Buck in a preseason matchup with the Lakers, which Milwaukee gained 108-97.
The new recruit recorded 14 factors, two rebounds, three assists and three steals in 22 minutes on 28.6 capturing from three and 30 p.c capturing from the sphere.
“I felt great. It’s always a little bit of rust in the beginning but the game was very simple,” Lillard stated after the sport on NBA TV.
“It was a matter of getting my wind up, just getting into the rhythm. They came out blitzing me in the beginning so it woke me up. It was just good to be back out on the floor.”
It was a primary glimpse at how the extremely anticipated Dame and Giannis Antetokounmpo mixture will work collectively.
The pair appeared to be fairly snug with one another and a number of instances in the course of the first half, Lillard acquired the go away to Giannis for a bucket.
Giannis completed the evening with a team-high of 16 factors, to go along with one help and eight rebounds in 22 minutes of taking part in time.
“He can dominate a game and win you a game…,” Lillard said of the Greek superstar. “The first couple plays of the game, they trap me, and the guy that I’m releasing the ball to is Giannis. We can do this all night.”
Another Bucks star in Khris Middleton didn’t take the courtroom, however Lillard talked about about how thrilling or not it’s to have one other offensive weapon like Middleton to work alongside with.
“We’re going to have a lot of options and I think the fact that there’s going to be times where he’s [Giannis] willing to make the play to me and vice versa, as we saw today, and then you add Khris to that…you got a lot of guys who are capable and I think everybody is enjoying the fact that we have those types of weapons,” Lillard stated.
Dame and Giannis are hoping to construct a relationship on the courtroom that may lead to a championship title.
“It has been very solid,” Lillard stated of bonding with Antetokounmpo. “It has been easy. I don’t suppose I’ve, and I don’t suppose he has both, gone into it overly making an attempt to piece every part collectively.
“I think our personalities mesh well. Our styles of play mesh well. Everything else has just happened organically in time and we’ve got to allow that space to happen.”
The Bucks will play two extra preseason video games towards OKC and Memphis respectively, earlier than their season opener towards Philadelphia on Thursday, October 26 at dwelling.
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