Damian Lillard hits first game-winner for Bucks in 143-142 victory in overtime against Kings
“It's not my first rodeo, man," Damian Lillard said, smiling.
And then he casually sauntered out of the Milwaukee Bucks locker room to a roar from family waiting for him.
That may be true, but it was the first time Bucks fans at Fiserv Forum and his teammates got to experience "Dame Time" in person.
With the Bucks down by two with 5.2 seconds left in overtime, Lillard inbounded the ball to Brook Lopez, immediately got it back and raced up court and pulled up from 32 feet and the ball found nothing but net to give the Bucks a thrilling, exhausting 143-142 overtime victory over the Sacramento Kings on Sunday night at Fiserv Forum.
Yet in that speed, he slowed down.
"I knew I wasn't going inside the three-point line," Lillard said, noting he was just putting himself into position to find space and a good look at the rim. "It was a pretty comfortable shot."
Malik Beasley couldn't believe it.
"I was like OK, this is definitely 'Dame Time," Beasley said.
Neither could Thanasis Antetokounmpo. Or Giannis Antetokounmpo. They've seen Lillard's game-winning exploits from afar.
"He just pulled up and when I saw the ball in the air I was like 'this (expletive) is going in, this (expletive is going in), this (expletive) is going in," Giannis Antetokounmpo said through a grin, looking skyward and rolling his head as if he were watching the ball. "And it went in. And it as like, everything was like slow motion."
Lillard then, for the first time in a Bucks uniform, did his signature “Dame Time” wrist tap. It was his second career buzzer-beater in the regular season. Giannis Antetokounmpo thought he squeezed his point guard so hard – too hard – and yet Lillard remained stoic, cool as ever.
"I kept tellin' 'em like, man, if you look over the course of my career I didn't just every game tappin' my wrist, I was like I do it when it's necessary," he said. "And, tonight it was necessary."
BOX SCORE: Bucks 143, Kings 142 (overtime)
Lillard hit 2 three-pointers in overtime and hit three free throws to help the Bucks overcome a quick six-point deficit in the extra session, which was forced after the Kings overcame a 12-point deficit with about eight minutes left in regulation.
"With the guys we have on the court, we have a chance anytime," Beasley said. "(Connaughton) hit a big three, Brook hit a big three, and that's not even with Khris (Middleton) playing tonight. Then we got Dame and Giannis. I think we feel confident no matter how much we're down or what the time limit is on the clock. So, I think we just kept composed and kept playing."
Lillard scored 29 points on 9-of-23 shooting, including 5 of 13 from behind the three-point line in 41 minutes. Giannis Antetokounmpo had 27 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds while Malik Beasley (23 points), Bobby Portis (22 points, 10 rebounds), Brook Lopez (17 points) and Cam Payne (15) also reach double figures.
"These the ones you gotta have," Lillard said of the win. "You get to March and April and you look back and these are the game you're like man, we let that one slip, we let this one slip, so this was a great one to have."
The Kings were led by De’Aaron Fox’s 32 points while Domantas Sabonis had his 10th triple-double of the season with 21 points, 15 assists and 13 rebounds. Kevin Huerter had 26 points and 10 rebounds while Malik Monk added 28 off the bench.
The Bucks improved to 28-12 in winning their third straight game. The Kings felt to 23-16.
"We've been talking about consistency and effort and being all-in all the time and I think this week we've done a good job of that," said Bucks guard AJ Green, who had five points off the bench. "You can see the result when that happens. So, just grind it out and be tough in a back-to-back like this down the stretch, when you need stops and continue to do the little things, then stuff happens and you hit a game winner like that."
Giannis Antetokounmpo plays through shoulder bruise
The Bucks’ MVP candidate was a late addition to the injury report a couple hours before game time with right shoulder contusion, but after his regular pregame warmup he was cleared to play. Though it was the first time he appeared on the injury report with that issue, he took a hard hit to that shoulder against Houston on Dec. 17 – one that sent him to the floor for a moment to collect his thoughts.
"I just want to play games," he said. "I just played a lot of games. What is this Game 40? I've only missed one game, which I'm very proud of. I just want to be available for my team because I had an offseason where I wasn't really playing basketball, I wasn't able to participate with the (Greek) national team or practice, so basically this is my practice.
"As much as I can be available for the team and available for myself being out there I try to work through habits with the team and movements and all that. I want to be able to do this, this year."
Antetokounmpo, sporting a white compression sleeve on his right shoulder, was needed.
He scored 14 points on 4-of-6 shooting in the first half, with his final basket giving the Bucks a 68-66 lead. He also had six rebounds and five assists. He also hit 3 of 4 free throws in the final seconds of regulation to give the Bucks a chance to win the game, but the Kings were able to make a couple of key baskets late to force overtime.
Antetokounmpo ended up playing over 40 minutes for the third time this season, including the entire five-minute overtime session.
He recorded his fifth triple-double of the season with a 27-point, 10-assist, 10-rebound effort. He was 9 for 16 from the field and 9 for 14 from the free throw line.
Sunday was the 29th straight game Antetokounmpo had played, his longest streak of consecutive games played since he appeared in 31 straight in the 2020-21 season.
Kings guards stand tall, but stall out at free throw line
Fox, Sacramento's point guard, made his first all-star and all-NBA teams last season, and the 26-year-old is on pace to repeat those honors this year. He came into the game averaging 27.7 points per game on 46.9% shooting, and the Bucks have had their issues all year long in defending other team’s top scoring guards.
That was no different Sunday, as the 6-foot, 3-inch Fox applied consistent pressure on the Bucks defense with his pace and aggressiveness. Sixth-man-of-the-year candidate Monk continued that style off the bench and kept the gas pedal pressed.
The two combined for 25 points (on 9-of-21 shooting) and six assists in the first half, helping the Kings offset a 62.9% shooting half by the Bucks.
And though the Bucks did a good job of making it tough for the pair to make shots overall, Fox and Monk teamed up down the stretch to keep the Kings right in the game down to the final seconds. The duo helped erase a 12-point deficit with just about eight minutes to play to force overtime.
Monk scored 10 points in the fourth while Fox had eight, including the game-tying layup with 2 seconds left with a driving finish over Antetokounmpo.
Then in overtime, they scored Sacramento’s first eight points to give their team two leads and then Monk set up Kevin Huerter’s eventual game-winning three-pointer with 67 seconds left. Monk then hit a jumper of his own giving the Kings a 141-137 lead.
"Going into the game we know (Domantas) Sabonis is the No. 1 handoff guy in the league, so him and those two guys are going to be in action a lot so our focus was to make sure there was no back cuts and things like that," Beasley said. "Then as the game went on, a lot of their points came in the second half because we started to playing two-on-two instead of playing that zone. Those guys got hot and I think we just overcame. We wanted it more."
But then, when the Bucks slowed them down by fouling in the final moments, Monk and Fox stalled out.
Monk missed two free throws with 18.4 seconds left in overtime, which allowed the Bucks to find Brook Lopez in the corner to drill a three-pointer to make it 141-140.
Lillard said that was the most important shot of the night for the Bucks.
"I was just trying to get spacing," Lopez said simply. "Because Giannis is always pushing downcourt."
Fox then missed his only free throw of the game in making 1 of 2 with 5.2 seconds left, setting up Lillard’s buzzer-beating heroics.
Fox finished with 32 points on 12 of 26 shooting. Monk had 28 on 9 of 21 shooting, and was just 6-for-10 from the free throw line.
Of the top games by individual opponents against the Bucks this year, Brooklyn’s Cam Thomas (45 points) and New York’s Jalen Brunson (45) have had two of them and the Bucks had given up 30 points or more to guards on 11 other occasions.
Kings coach Mike Brown ejected, brings computer out to discuss fouls
At the 9-minute, 28-second mark of the fourth quarter Kings head coach Mike Brown was ejected after receiving two technical fouls for a very, very heated confrontation with officials following a Fox turnover. As Beasley stole the ball and turned upcourt, Brown was already on the playing surface screaming and had to be restrained by Monk and his staff.
Beasley made both technical free throws to give the Bucks a 107-95 lead.
After the game, Brown brought out a laptop to show reporters what he called inconsistent officiating.
"At the half, I think we were down 19-5 in free throws, 19-5," he said between showing different foul calls. "I know that happens sometimes, but it’s very frustrating when at the end of the half, from what I get told all the time, Malik drives and Lopez comes over and goes vertical with the forearm down here. From what the NBA tells me the rule is, when you go vertical, you’ve got to have two hands up because Domas (Sabonis) has his hand down here a lot and they call him for it every time and they always tell us, well you got a forearm here. And tonight they said the forearm could be here as long as it’s not extended.
"So I don’t know what the rules are in this situation. I need clarification, because again, two hands up is what the rule is on verticality, but they were here (hand up) and they said Lopez could do this. That’s a five-point swing. They take away the two free throws and then Milwaukee goes down and hits a three. And to end the half at 19-5, that’s tough to deal with, especially when you’re getting told different interpretations on rules."
Brown continued.
"The referees are human, and they’re going to make mistakes, but you just hope that A) there’s some sort of consistency and B) there’s some sort of communication between the refs," he said. "And the refs tonight, they were great, they communicated with me all night. But in terms of consistency, you guys saw it right here. Dame coming off the pick-and-roll and Foxy getting hooked and almost falling coming off the pick-and-roll. And on top of that, if you get communication and you get some form of consistency in the game, ok, then you can live with some things.
"But the consistency that I see tonight wasn’t in my opinion there. And then I don’t understand the rule, if the rule is you’ve got to go vertical both hands up, how can you take away two free throws with a guy with his forearm down here. If they’re going to change the rule on me and say ok the forearm can be down here, and another one can be up there, then all right I know that going forward, but that’s not what the rule is, because we get called on Domas all the time and they tell us he’s got to have both hands up if you want to go vertical. That’s why I got kicked out.”
Did you notice?
The Kings had a foul to give in the fourth quarter, so they used it with 13.6 seconds remaining to not only prevent Lillard from taking the free throws but force the Bucks to burn a timeout and execute a second inbounds play. On that second attempt, Pat Connaughton had to inbound it to Antetokounmpo, and the Kings then sent him to the line.
Antetokounmpo, just a 67.8% free throw shooter this season, knocked them both down to give the Bucks a 127-124 lead with 11.7 seconds left.
Bucks head coach Adrian Griffin then had Beasley foul Fox on the floor with 10.2 seconds left to force free throws. That was a change from early in the season, when the Bucks went to overtime against Chicago and the team didn't want to foul under 5 seconds left. They fouled with 10 left in San Antonio.
Antetokounmpo made 1 of 2 free throws with 8.6 seconds left, and Fox sent the game to overtime with a driving layup over the Bucks' star with two seconds left.
Five numbers
0 Losses this season by the Bucks when Bobby Portis finds a rhythm. Milwaukee is now 7-0 when he has a double-double and 13-0 when he scores 15 or more points. Portis had 22 points and 10 rebounds in 25 minutes off the bench.
5-1 Bucks record in the second game of back-to-backs.
7-2 Milwaukee’s record vs. Western Conference teams.
11 Games this season Malik Beasley has hit at least five three-pointers. He is one away from tying Ray Allen’s club record of 12, set in 2000-01.
02/01/2016 Date of the last Kings victory over the Bucks. Milwaukee had won 14 straight before Sunday’s game.
Khris Middleton ruled out for Bucks
Khris Middleton was held out against the Kings on Sunday for right knee injury management. It will be the fifth game this season Middleton has missed, and four have come during back-to-back games.
He played his first back-to-back on Jan. 4 in San Antonio, playing 15 minutes in the first half against the Spurs in a nationally televised game.
“Just being smart,” Bucks head coach Adrian Griffin said before the game on Sunday. “It’s a lot of games for him – three in four days. So we’ll just continue to be smart and monitor him as we move forward.”
Middleton scored 24 points and handed out 10 assists in 33 minutes in Milwaukee’s win over Golden State on Saturday night.
Rookie Andre Jackson Jr. started in place of Middleton, though the rookie was plagued by foul trouble, collecting five fouls in just 10 minutes.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Lillard hits first game-winner for Bucks in overtime to down Kings
