The Milwaukee Bucks opened their season with a victory over the Philadelphia 76ers and Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo were incredible.
In his Bucks debut, Lillard finished with 39 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Meanwhile, Antetokounmpo put up 23 points, 13 rebounds and three assists.
Antetokounmpo is a two-time MVP and one-time Finals MVP. However, he gave the ball to Lillard to close the game for the Bucks because he knew his new teammate “had the hot hand.”
“For me, I’m trying to win,” Antetokounmpo said. “Obviously, like he has the hot hand. He has the team going. We got back in the game. At that point when I gave him the ball, we were up two or something, but at the end, he had the hot hand and you just gotta keep feeding him. Like what works, you gotta keep on going to what works. Obviously, it was Dame that was working at the time.”
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard, Milwaukee Bucks Updates
Lillard, who has never played with a player like Antetokounmpo, is very thankful Antetokounmpo and the Bucks trust him to make the right play with the game on the line.
“I’ve had enough conversations with guys, especially with Giannis, where I came in knowing what was expected of me when these types of situations came,” Lillard said. “And I’ve been in a lot of those situations where I know it’s probably not going to always be me making a shot or taking a shot, but they’re encouraging me to be the person to take control and make decisions and decide what’s going to happen in those moments. And that’s what I’m here to do.”
The Bucks are the betting favorite to win the championship this season with Antetokounmpo and Lillard leading the way. Milwaukee has a “Big 4” in Antetokounmpo, Lillard, Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard, Milwaukee Bucks Updates
“He has to know that whenever he has the hot hand down the stretch, we’re going to find him and we’re going to give the ball to him to operate to make plays for himself and to make plays for the team,” Antetokounmpo said about Lillard. “And that’s what he did tonight. And that is why we were able to get the win.”
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