“We Just Let Him Down”: Khris Middleton Reflects on Damian Lillard Doing His Best During Bucks’ Recent Loss

The Milwaukee Bucks suffered a tough 111-116 loss against the Chicago Bulls, just days after dominating Zach LaVine and co. at the United Center. However, there was a positive takeaway for Wisconsin fans – the excellence of Damian Lillard on his return.

Khris Middleton expressed great satisfaction with Lillard‘s performance during Saturday night’s loss, especially his impressive 11 – 0 individual run in the final quarter(8:57-7:16). After all the praises, Middleton expressed his disappointment with himself and the rest of the team for failing to support Lillard’s heroic efforts.

“He was great, he came in and fought, that 11-0 he went on at the end was great… I think as a team we just let him down and couldn’t finish it for him,” Middleton, who had a decent 21-point outing himself, said.

Khris on Dame: “He was great, he came in and fought, that 11-0 he went on at the end was great.. I think as a team we just let him down and couldn’t finish it for him.” pic.twitter.com/hDWQVLuHjW

— (@GiannisWorld) December 29, 2024

After missing the past four games due to illness, Dame returned with no minutes restriction as his absence wasn’t caused by a contact injury. In 35:28 minutes of play, Lillard made a statement, leading the game in points (29), assists (12), and steals (2), while also grabbing six rebounds.

Following a rocky start to the 2024-2025 season, the star sharpshooter has rediscovered his form. Over the last two months, Lillard has been averaging 26.5 points and 8 assists per game, propelling the Bucks into the top half of the Eastern Conference standings and helping secure the 2024 Emirates NBA Cup.

Doc Rivers’ squad has done an impressive job of climbing out of the early-season struggles that had them in a tough spot. However, their performance has noticeably dipped over the last four games, mainly because of Giannis Antetokounmpo’s absence (illness). Once Antetokounmpo returns to the lineup, the Bucks are expected to regain their momentum and make a strong push to climb higher in the standings.