Damian Lillard's return to his old stomping grounds was bittersweet, as the Milwaukee Bucks lost a road game to the Portland Trail Blazers Wednesday night, 119-116. After the final buzzer sounded, Blazers big man Deandre Ayton, perhaps best summed up the beautiful evening his team just had at the expense of the Bucks.
“That's what we do,” Ayton bellowed after the Blazers secured the victory and tasted their second win in a row.
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Deandre Ayton, Blazers had last laugh in Damian Lillard's return to Portland
Lillard did not have an efficient performance against the Blazers, as he made just nine of his 23 attempts from the field and went 3-for-13 from deep to finish with 25 points. Ayton, meanwhile, came up big for Portland with a double-double of 20 points and 11 rebounds. The win was also a small measure of revenge for Ayton against the Bucks, who defeated his team back at the 2021 NBA Finals when the Phoenix Suns blew a 2-0 series lead to Giannis Antetkounmpo and company.
Ayton was also part of that blockbuster three-team deal in the last offseason that sent Lillard to the Bucks and him to the Blazers.
The backstories of Lillard and Ayton were indeed a notable one heading into Tuesday's game.
The Blazers will now look to pull off a three-game win streak for just the second time this season when they travel to Mile High City for what should be a testy assignment versus the Denver Nuggets on Friday.
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