Damian Lillard thought the Bucks should have scored more points Tuesday night, but 146 was enough to get past the Knicks and earn a spot in the in-season tournament semifinals, writes Eric Nehm of The Athletic. Milwaukee’s offense was finally clicking the way most league observers expected when Lillard was acquired from Portland. He contributed 28 points and seven assists in the outburst against one of the league’s top-rated defensive teams.
“I thought this was probably our best offensive game (of the season),” Lillard said. “This could have easily been a 160, 165-point game. That doesn’t mean we’re going to turn into a team that does that every night, but I do think we’ve got that type of explosiveness. We can’t depend on having these types of nights all the time, but it’s … a look at the kind of nights we can have offensively sometimes.”
The Bucks set season highs by hitting 23 three-pointers and shooting 60.5% from beyond the arc. It wasn’t just a hot shooting night, as Nehm points out that many of the three-point attempts were wide-open shots that were set up by drives into the lane.
“I know in training camp, we just kept smiling because it was so easy with our spacing and you’re starting to see it now,” Malik Beasley said. “A lot of guys are getting open shots.”
There’s more from the Central Division:
- Giannis Antetokounmpo sprained his left ankle on a tip-in try early in the game, but he was able to keep playing. He doesn’t seem worried that it might affect his status for the Bucks‘ semifinal game, Nehm tweets. “It feels good,” Antetokounmpo said Wednesday. “Obviously, a little bit sore today, but it is what it is. You get some treatment, you sleep a little bit, ice it, elevate it, hopefully it feels better tomorrow.”
- There’s no guarantee that Bulls guard Zach LaVine will be traded during the season, K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago states in a mailbag column. Johnson notes that LaVine’s contract makes an in-season deal difficult, and even though the Lakers have shown some interest, he would be a very expensive third option in L.A. Johnson believes the Bulls are “motivated” to move on from LaVine but might have to wait until the offseason unless the offers improve. The front office is “hesitant” to part with Alex Caruso, Johnson adds.
- Cavaliers forward Dean Wade was cleared to return tonight after missing six games with an injured ankle, tweets Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Wade is expected to play in a “limited capacity” off the bench.
Bulls should only be hesitant to part with Caruso because of the return he can get them.
The Bulls organization is a joke.
Why would they trade him? If Caruso wants out sure but if he’s happy I’d rather keep him. There’s a reason everyone wants him, players like AC are super impactful and fun to root for. U can tell he’s having a positive impact on the team, especially on Coby w the effort taking charges etc.
It’s difficult to keep a player like Caruso, because he’ll be heavily bid for in FA. Better money, better locations, better teams… at some point, it becomes the right move to trade him for as big of a haul as you can get back.
Bucks shot well against Knicks. Showed why they are best team. They are still coming into their own. Imo Bucks and Celtics are still coming together. Both will be tough to beat in playoffs.
Lillard, true to his reputation, is all about offense. Coming off that offensive performance, his talking point is how the team might have scored even more points. Versus, IDK, talking about their defense, since their performance on that end was poor, and maybe if they don’t give up 72 points by the half, they might have rapped things up then and there.
Wade looked excellent last night. I don’t think Orlando expected him to shoot because his job is usually doing the dirty job of playing defense. Of course the Cavaliers don’t need a lot from him. Still When he is in the team seems to operate better.