Damian Lillard felt the Milwaukee Bucks gave a glimpse of their offensive potential in a 146-122 thrashing of the New York Knicks.
Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo worked in tandem to down the Knicks and send the Bucks into the semi-finals of the NBA in-season tournament, where they will face the Indiana Pacers in Las Vegas on Thursday.
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“I thought this was probably our best offensive game,” said Lillard, who scored 28 points on eight-of-13 shooting as the Bucks recorded their highest points total of the season.
“That doesn’t mean we’re going to turn into a team that does that every night, but I do think we have that type of explosiveness. We can’t depend on having these types of nights every time, but it’s definitely a look at the kind of nights we can have offensively.”
Antetokounmpo poured in 35 points and provided 10 assists to help move the Bucks to 15-6 for the season.
Dame sounds off after the Bucks’ NBA In-Season Quarterfinals win ️
Bucks face the Pacers in Knockout Rounds Semifinals in Las Vegas on Thursday pic.twitter.com/xYVSGCGw48
— NBA (@NBA) December 6, 2023
“There have been some bumps in that process where we don’t play so great some nights but we’re still able to win those games,” Lillard said.
“I think now is just starting to get a little more smooth – knowing where we should be on the floor, knowing how to give each other outlets, knowing how to help each other be who we are.
“It’s not perfect, but I just like that we’re showing improvement and it’s carrying over and you can see it on the floor.”
Bucks coach Adrian Griffin was impressed with his side’s efforts but knows there is still a job to do when they get to Nevada.
“Tonight was a huge step. We wanted to get to Vegas,” he said. “But when we get to Vegas, we’ve got to take care of business. We still got two games to win there.”
