The Milwaukee Bucks have been one of the hotter teams in the NBA since the All-Star Break. After a tough start to the Doc Rivers era in Milwaukee, the Bucks have gone 9-3 since the break. That includes a six-game winning streak right out of it, as the team has played .500 ball since as they deal with injuries.
The biggest injury was to Giannis Antetokounmpo, who has missed time with an Achilles ailment and sore hamstring. Getting Khris Middleton back in the lineup after a 16-game absence certainly helped.
Middleton was one of the key contributors in Sunday’s 140-129 victory over the Phoenix Suns. He scored 22 points with seven assists in the game, playing 25 minutes in his first game action since February 6th against the Suns.
“I thought it was huge, especially with Giannis being out,” All-Star Damian Lillard said of Middleton’s return. “Any time you’re down your best player and then you add another weapon to a team that’s already down, it’s a pick-me-up just because we’re excited to have him back.”
Getting Middleton back in the lineup took some of the pressure off of Lillard, who was the go-to option without Antetokounmpo in the lineup. He had a big performance himself, scoring 31 points to go along with 16 assists in the win.
It was a historic performance by Lillard, as no Bucks player had ever had a 30-15 game with points and rebounds before him on Sunday afternoon. After the game, he spoke about needing to get into an attack move with the Bucks’ biggest star sidelined.
“I just wanted to come out and be in attack mode,” said Lillard. “I didn’t really think to myself I’m going to have to score a bunch of points. I just knew I had to be a problem for the defense.”
A problem he was indeed. He shot 10-of-19 from the field overall, going 4-of-8 from 3-point range and connecting on all seven of his free throw attempts. It was an incredible offensive performance by the Bucks as a whole.
Six players scored in double-figures, including the entire starting five. Off the bench, it was Bobby Portis who exploded for 31 points, tied with Lillard for a team-high. Those kinds of offensive explosions, combined with the improvements Rivers is overseeing defensively, is what make the Bucks a dangerous team heading into the NBA Playoffs.
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