One of the most anticipated storylines for the Milwaukee Bucks entering the season was the duo of Damian Lillard and Gary Trent Jr. reuniting.
The pair previously played together in Portland, and the hope was that they could bring some of that chemistry over to Milwaukee. To start the year, that wasn’t the case, as Trent had an abysmal stretch that resulted in him becoming a reserve. Since then, he has played much better, as has Lillard after a slow start, but the two have not clicked as well as fans had hoped.
Thursday’s matchup against Miami was a display of what these two can do when they are both hot.
Lillard and Trent catch fire, help Bucks extinguish Heat
At the end of the first quarter, the Bucks trailed by three. Damian Lillard was struggling, having missed all four of his shots, and Gary Trent Jr. had three points to his name. With Milwaukee needing a spark, these two delivered in the second quarter. They combined to score 26 points in the frame, shooting a red-hot 8-of-12 from the floor, including 6-of-10 from the 3-point line.
They helped the Milwaukee Bucks outscore Miami 44-25 in the period, and they never looked back from there.
All in all, Lillard finished with 29 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds. Meanwhile, Trent poured in a season-high 21 points off the bench, sinking seven out of his 10 triples in what many would say was his best game of the year yet. This type of sweet shooting and shot-making was what Bucks fans envisioned when Trent first signed with Milwaukee, and they certainly got it in this game.
-Trent’s impressive performance off the bench was particularly important due to Milwaukee missing two key pieces in Khris Middleton and AJ Green. With those two out of the lineup, someone needed to pick up the scoring and shooting workload, and Trent obliged. He took advantage of the extended role and showed why he can be an X-factor for the Milwaukee Bucks.
Trent and Lillard helped the Milwaukee Bucks extend their win streak to five games with a 125-96 win over the Miami Heat. Given everything that went on with their flight issues, the delaying of the contest by an hour and the Bucks falling into a 15-point hole early, this was a strong win for a squad that looks to be finding its stride lately.
If Lillard and Trent can keep shooting it like this, the Bucks could certainly extend that win streak by many more games.
Stay tuned for more Milwaukee Bucks analysis.
