On Sunday’s opening day, the Milwaukee Bucks hit the table and won with authority over the Phoenix Suns of Durant and company in the return of Khris Middleton to the courts after being out since the beginning of February.
Damian Lillard and reserve Bobby Portis led the 140-129 victory with 31 points each. Additionally, the All-Star guard added 16 assists via an outstanding 10-of-19 shooting.
For his part, the aforementioned Middleton put together a notable performance with 22 points and 7 basket passes in just 25 minutes of play starting from the beginning.
The victory for the Bucks has taken on special importance, since they could not count on their star Giannis Antetokounmpo, who was out at the last minute due to hamstring discomfort. However, Lillard and the 24 triples they converted were enough to put an end to the Suns, who were closing the gap, trailing 122-115 with 06:17 left.
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But the morning was for Lillard and his Bucks who did not trust each other for a single moment and with his fourth triple of the night he made it almost final 134-120 with just three minutes left.
In the Arizona team, the most outstanding were Bradley Beal and Grayson Allen with 28 and 25 points respectively. His teammate Devin Booker added 23 points, and Kevin Durant was perfectly monitored by the rival defense with 11 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks with only ten shots attempted.
Finally, it is worth mentioning that the Bucks made up to 18 triples in the first half, equaling a season record also held by the aforementioned Suns and Utah Jazz respectively.
(Cover photo: Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
2024-03-17 20:44:17
#Victory #authority #Milwaukee #return #Middleton
