“Not His Turn My Turn”: Damian Lillard 2-Man Game With Giannis Antetokounmpo Gets A Deep Breakdown From The Former Blazer

Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving are possibly the best duo the league currently has. But giving them a run for their money is none other than Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard. The two duos matched up recently, and what transpired was possibly the best performance we have seen from Dame and Giannis so far this season, as they took the game 132-125.

Giannis had a very impressive outing, as he put up 40 points, 15 rebounds and 7 assists. But Damian Lillard wasn’t silent either, as the former Blazer scored 27 points, 12 assists, and 3 rebounds. All in all, the duo of Giannis and Lillard made up 67 of their total 132 points.

After the game, Lillard answered some questions about the team’s performance on the night, saying the following, as seen in the X (Formerly Twitter) post by Gabe Stoltz.

“It’s just good balance. You got a guy as dominant as he is, you gotta let him be dominant. What I’ve tried to do is find my way of just making sure I’m being aggressive so that the game doesn’t….. But I think when he’s playing that way, I gotta make sure that I positively match him. Not his turn, my turn, but I gotta be effective while he’s doing what he’s doing.”

 

Postgame, Damian Lillard shined a light on the balance of the scoring output between him and Giannis. Some good stuff from Dame here: pic.twitter.com/7AGGtvovmV

— Gabe Stoltz (@Stoltzy3) November 19, 2023

The Bucks are currently sitting at the third spot in the East, just a game behind the second-place, 76’ers. The Bucks are doing well in the In-Season tournament as well, as they currently lead their group with two wins and no losses.

Dame breaks down playing with the team

Damian Lillard and the Bucks have now played 13 games together. During such a short time, Lillard has already figured out how to play with not just Giannis, but even the other role players on the team. Addressing his chemistry with Pat Connaughton on the night, Dame said,

“When I got here, I saw him doing it in practice a lot. And I was like, “Why’s he doing that?” But he was making it. He practiced that. Then I started seeing his workouts every day and he practices keeping it high.”

 

Damian Lillard, on Pat Connaughton’s catch-high-keep-high 3:

“When I got here, I saw him doing it in practice a lot. And I was like, “Why’s he doing that?” But he was making it. He practised that. Then I started seeing his workouts every day and he practices keeping it high.” https://t.co/PGqKuFS07K

— Eric Nehm (@eric_nehm) November 19, 2023

It wasn’t just Connaughton who was the recipient of Dame’s dimes, but also Brook Lopez. Lopez who is known to be a great shooter for his size is an easy find, anywhere on the court. Brook who also had 12 points on the night, was also a subject of questioning for Lillard. Answering questions about Lopez, Damian said,

“I just feel like I can get it done at that time, whether I’m scoring or making the play or if I get fouled going to the free throw line, I think that’s a great option for us.”

 

Damian Lillard, on playing in a two-man game with Brook Lopez in the clutch:

“I just feel like I can get it done at that time, whether I’m scoring or making the play or if I get fouled going to the free throw line, I think that’s a great option for us.”

— Eric Nehm (@eric_nehm) November 19, 2023

The role players on the Bucks had a great outing too, as Connaughton had a season-high in threes. With the Bucks slowly finding their groove, it will be interesting to see how dominant a Giannis-Dame combo can be.