Summary
Damian Lillard had one of his best performances of the season Tuesday night with 37 points and 12 assists to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a hard-earned 106-103 victory over the Miami Heat.
This is Lillard’s second highest points total this season, after his 41 points against the Cleveland Cavaliers on November 2.
Lillard was brilliant in the first three quarters of the game, as he reached the 35-point plateau with almost five minutes remaining in the third quarter. However, he slowed down to score only two points afterwards.
The Bucks star was effective from downtown with 8 three-pointers made on 13 attempts.
Giannis Antetokounmpo did not participate in the game due to swelling in his left knee. He practiced taking shots early in the day and did his pregame routine, but then felt discomfort, which caused him to miss the game.
Jimmy Butler had 23 points in the Heat’s loss, while Tyler Herro and Terry Rozier chipped in with 18 and 17 points, respectively.
After an ugly start to the season which saw the Bucks suffer eight losses in their last ten games, the team turned things around with seven victories in their last eight outings.
This is the first time since the second game of the season that the Bucks are .500.
With this victory, Milwaukee remains in first place in NBA Cup Group B, with a perfect 3-0 record.
The meeting, however, took place in two stages for the Bucks, who experienced a significant drop in performance in the second half of the match.
The Bucks initially started the game with panache to take a 14-point lead midway through the game.
Then after seeing this lead melt to five points after three quarters, the Bucks even saw the Heat approach to a small point with 30 seconds left in the game.
Herro, however, missed a shot with three seconds left in the game and the Bucks confirmed their victory thanks to two successful free throws from Taurean Prince.
Elsewhere in the NBA
Group C – East
Bulls 127 – Wizards 108
CHI : Coby White had 21 points, while Zach LaVine added 18 points.
WAS : Evening of 23 points and 7 rebounds for Kyle Kuzma.
Group A – West
Rockets 117 – Timberwolve 111 (prol.)
NEW : Alperen Sengün scored a hat-trick with 22 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds.
MIN : Anthony Edwards responded, with 29 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks.
Group B – West
Spurs – Jazz
on :
UTA :
Group B – West
Lakers – Suns
LAL :
PHO :
