Well, that's a result no one was expecting. With LeBron James out for the Los Angeles Lakers, many had the Milwaukee Bucks as easy winners during Thursday night's contest. However, Los Angeles surprisingly kept up with the green titans of the East, mainly thanks to the heroics of D'Angelo Russell.
In the final moments of the game, with the Bucks down by a single possession, they elected to give the ball to Damian Lillard. Lillard sized up his man, Spencer Dinwiddie, and attempted a step-back. Dinwiddie was all over the play, and he blocked the attempt, giving the Lakers the win. Afterwards, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Doc Rivers talked about the failed attempt, per Eric Nehm.
“(Bucks coach) Doc Rivers, on the last play: “It was just an ISO for Dame.” Why that play? Rivers: “Not a lot of time. (Lillard) wanted a quick action. He's pretty good one-on-one. So just, give Dinwiddie credit, he did a great job.”
“Giannis Antetokounmpo: “Give the ball to the best closer in this game today to make a play. And, whatever the outcome of that play is, you gotta live with that.””
Lillard is considered as one of the best closers in the NBA, and for good reason. The Bucks star has a reputation for draining clutch shots dating back to his days as a Blazer. However, even the best have some bad days. Lillard was having a solid game for himself, ending up with 23 points on respectable efficiency. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to score the final game-winner for the team.
The Bucks now stand in third place in the Eastern Conference, behind the Boston Celtics and the Cleveland Cavaliers. After a rough start to the Doc Rivers era, they have now stabilized their performance. Let's hope they put this loss behind them and bounce back in the next game.
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