The Milwaukee Bucks are fresh off three straight losses, but at least Damian Lillard is back in the lineup. Before Friday’s 117-11 loss (boxscore) to the lonely Raptors, the star guard had missed three consecutive games due to a groin strain, including a 117-113 loss in Washington and a 111-101 loss at home to Memphis. With the playoffs just a week and a half away, the second-place Bucks have slipped into a rut.
“We’ve got to take accountability. Even if it was one of these games, it’s all right, the next two should be handled. So to have three of them is disappointing. We’ve just got to do better.” Damian Lillard said.
Milwaukee has five regular-season games remaining: against New York, Boston, Orlando, Oklahoma City, and Orlando. Friday’s game was expected to be the Bucks’ final easy contest. The woefully undermanned Raptors have been mired in a 15-game losing run, including Wednesday’s 133-85 thrashing at Minnesota, the most lopsided defeat in team history.
But, considering what had transpired against the unpowered Wizards and even more undermanned Grizzlies, it was risky to believe that any victory would be easy just now.
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Damian Lillard is in his first season with the Milwaukee Bucks
Lillard was out of the starting lineup for the previous three games, but he was back in it on Friday. As per the NBA website, in 68 games during his rookie campaign, he has averaged 24.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, 7.1 assists, and 1.0 steals while shooting 35.8% from three-point range and 42.6% from the field.
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With a 47-29 record after 76 games, the Bucks are the second seed in the Eastern Conference. Before playing on Friday, the Bucks had outscored their opponents by 14.9 points per 100 possessions in 594 minutes when they had Giannis Antetokounmpo, Brook Lopez, Lillard, Malik Beasley, and Khris Middleton in their starting lineup.
That bunch has been outstanding on both ends, and no matter who else has been on the field, the combination of Lillard, Middleton, and Antetokounmpo has dominated.
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