Lillard waxes hot as Bucks finally end skid
Damian Lillard scored 34 points as the Milwaukee Bucks snapped a run of six straight defeats to bag their first home win of the season with a 123-100 victory over the Utah Jazz on Thursday.
Lillard rattled in four three-pointers and shot 12-of-22 from the field en route to his third straight 30-point game to help Milwaukee claim only its second win since a season-opening defeat of the Philadelphia 76ers last month.
Giannis Antetokounmpo added 31 points with 16 rebounds while Bobby Portis bagged 19 off the bench as Milwaukee clinched a badly needed victory after a miserable start to the campaign.
“It feels great,” Lillard said. “Getting off to a rough start, it’s easy to get down on yourself and start to panic a little bit and worry.
“Tonight we just came out with the right mentality. They hit some threes, but we stuck with it, shared the ball and finally we caught our stride and take over the game.”
Clicking into gear
The 2021 NBA champions started the game with a 1-6 record that has left them one place off the bottom of the Eastern Conference.
Utah looked ready to compound Milwaukee’s problems after taking a 61-57 halftime lead at Fiserv Forum.
But the Bucks finally clicked into gear with a devastating third-quarter performance, outscoring Utah, 31-16, to build what turned out to be an insurmountable lead as they finally gave their home fans something to cheer about.
“We just got to be able to use this as momentum going forward,” Lillard said.
In other games, the Minnesota Timberwolves scored a 135-119 blowout of the Chicago Bulls on the road while the San Antonio Spurs proved too strong for the Portland Trail Blazers, 118-105.
