Three-pointers rained on Sunday for the Milwaukee Bucks, who made 24 trifectas while dominating the Phoenix Suns 140-129.
Damian Lillard and Malik Beasley were big factors in the hot three-pointer shooting night. Lillard went 4-of-8 from three-point range and finished with 31 points, while Malik shot 5-for-8 from three-point range and wound up with 18 points.
Inching closer to Ray’s record
Damian and Malik now have 191 three-pointers apiece in the season and are now tied for third for three-pointers made in a season in Milwaukee history. The two overtook Brook Lopez, who made 187 triples in the 2018-19 season—Lillard and Beasley trail Milwaukee legend Ray Allen on the list. Allen made 202 triples in the 2000-01 season and a club-record 229 in the 2001-02 season.
Against the Suns, the Bucks shot 24-of-41 from three-point range, with Bobby Portis Jr. adding five triples and Jae Crowder hitting four trifectas. Phoenix just made 14 triples on 33 attempts. The hot three-point shooting performance enabled the Bucks to survive the absence of Giannis Antetokounmpo, who sat out due to hamstring soreness.
Dame show
Lillard also recorded 16 assists in the win, making him the first player in Milwaukee history to record a 30-point, 15-assist game.
Without Giannis, who is averaging 30.8 points in the season, Lillard knew that he needed to be extra aggressive.
“I just wanted to come out and be in attack mode. 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,” Lillard said.
The win hiked Milwaukee’s record to 44-24, good for second place in the Eastern Conference.
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