On Sunday night, the Milwaukee Bucks found themselves in a dogfight against the Sacramento Kings, with both sides going at it and going for it in one of the most exciting matchups of the 2023-24 regular season. In the end, the Bucks fans were reminded of why the team traded away one of its most beloved players in Jrue Holiday for Damian Lillard after Lillard hit a bonkers deep three-pointer leaning to his left just as the buzzer sounded to give the Bucks a 143-142 win in overtime.

Lillard has been receiving washed-up allegations as of late, for a few reasons. In addition to a downtick in his statistical production, he also noticeably looks slower on the hardwood, and the saving grace of his decline in efficiency has been his ability to get to the foul line. But Lillard is a big game player. The Bucks star loves the moment, and he's never afraid to leave the fate of the game in his hands.

Thus, it was only fitting for Damian Lillard to bust out his signature Dame Time celebration as a stern reminder that he is still one of the most dangerous weapons in the NBA during crunch-time.

“I do [the Dame Time celebration] when it’s necessary and tonight, it was necessary,” Lillard said after the game, per Gabe Stoltz of SB Nation's Brew Hoop.

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Of course, tapping the wrist to remind everyone of what time it is after hitting a clutch shot has been Damian Lillard's signature for a while now. Alas, he hasn't been going to that well as much in recent times, with Eric Nehm of The Athletic reporting that Lillard has received questions from his teammates as to why he isn't doing the celebration as often.

But amid all the noise surrounding his and the Bucks' uneven play in recent weeks, hitting that shot, especially against a very talented Kings team, certainly quieted his doubters, hence the appropriateness of Lillard's celebration. And the entire Bucks team exploded in jubilation reminiscent of the way Lillard's teammates flooded him after he hit the most ballsy shot of his career back in the 2019 playoffs.

Damian Lillard appears to be hitting his stride for the Bucks, and with the playoffs being three months away, it's a good sign for Milwaukee to see Lillard get his swagger back in a major way.