Milwaukee Bucks superstar point guard Damian Lillard played like a man on a mission in the first half of Sunday night's series opener against the Indiana Pacers. After just two quarters of the contest, Lillard was already able to gather a total of 35 points, making 11 of his first 19 attempts from the floor, including six 3-pointers on 11 tries from behind the arc. He even nearly outscored the entire Pacers squad in the first half, as Indiana managed to cobble up only 42 points in that span.

Also, Lillard's eruption was the third time since he entered the NBA in 2012 that he had at least 30 points in the first half of a game in the NBA Playoffs. No other player since the 1996-97 NBA campaign recorded more such performances, according to Basketball-Reference.

Damian Lillard has Bucks, NBA fans going wild on social media

Apr 21, 2024; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard (0) reacts after scoring a basket in the in the second quarter against the Indiana Pacers during game one of the first round for the 2024 NBA playoffs at Fiserv Forum.
Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

Lillard has the social media world buzzing with all sorts of reactions to his fiery performance in the first 24 minutes of the Pacers series.

“Dame MF Dolla!!! He’s just getting started ladies and gentlemen. Like I said he will be the best player in this series! Carry the hell on,” posted former NBA big man Kendrick Perkins on X (formerly Twitter) after seeing Lillard go off in the first half.

The Pacers simply had no answer for Lillard early in the contest, and it allowed the Bucks to take a commanding 27-point lead to the dugout at the half. Lillard's first-half explosion gave Milwaukee just the boost it needed to quell any confidence in Indiana that it could score a big upset and steal a win on the road in Game 1. The game is still ongoing at the time of this writing, but it seems that Lillard and the Bucks already has a win in this contest virtually in the bag.

Lillard can get hot anytime, regardless of how poorly he shot in previous games, and his incredible start to the 2024 NBA Playoffs is a testament to the veteran's ability to do just that. In his last five games in the regular season, Lillard averaged 23.2 points but shot only 39.2 percent from the field. It's hard to tell that he struggled with his efficiency with the way he shot the ball to start the playoff battle versus Indiana.