The Milwaukee Bucks haven't found integrating Damian Lillard into the team to be a seamless task. In the early goings of the 2023-24 season, the Bucks have posted the worst defensive rating in the league despite having two of the best defensive players in the league in Giannis Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez. And on Wednesday night, it appears as though the Bucks were headed for more trouble after Antetokounmpo was ejected from the game after receiving a second technical foul for taunting after a ferocious slam over Detroit Pistons big man Isaiah Stewart.

After Antetokounmpo was thrown out of the contest, the Bucks proceeded to give away an 11-point lead, going down by as many as 10 points to the Pistons late in the fourth quarter. But that was when the veteran Bucks team figured it out. Facing a 109-99 deficit with seven minutes left in the final frame, Lillard took matters into his own hands, scoring 13 of the Bucks' final 21 points to seize a 120-118 victory to move to 5-2 on the season.

After the game, even though Giannis Antetokounmpo wasn't able to celebrate with his teammates on the court, the Bucks star applauded his team for holding the fort after he unfortunately headed for an early exit with a baffling ejection.

“Great team win 💪🏾💪🏾,” Antetokounmpo wrote on his official Twitter (X) account.

While Damian Lillard's heroics for the Bucks will be drawing the headlines, and deservedly so, the other members of the Bucks' supporting cast also came up huge, particularly Brook Lopez. Lopez was able to drill a three-pointer to give the Bucks a four-point lead in the dying embers of the game, and while clinging to a one-point lead with 12 seconds left in the game, he then swatted Cade Cunningham's go-ahead layup attempt.

Without Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Bucks utilized a 2-3 zone to prevent the Pistons from breaking down their defense with dribble penetration, and it worked, thanks to frenetic activity from Cam Payne, Jae Crowder, and Malik Beasley.

Now, the Bucks' defensive woes remain worrying, but they're still winning games despite of this issue, which is a good sign, as it's only a matter of time before they figure it out.