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Damian Lillard on Giannis Antetokounmpo’s 64-point explosion: "It was fun to watch"
Damian Lillard is one of the league’s explosive scorers, and scoring in bunches is something that is not new to him.
But when Giannis Antetokounmpo put up a magnificent offensive display in the Milwaukee Bucks’ 140-126 win over the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night, Lillard couldn’t help but be mesmerized.
Giannis’ show
“Just how he was just going and going and going and going was special to watch. It's been a lot of times that I’ve been in that situation, and I think this was the first time that I was like, ‘Man, you just don’t get in the way’. You just want to see him keep going and keep going because it’s fun to watch,” Lillard said.
In the win, Giannis finished with a career-high and a franchise-record 64 points as he toyed with defenders thrown at him.
“It’s looking like he's just going to score every time. He made a significant amount of free throws, too, so it was just fun to watch,” Lillard said.
Giannis went 20-for-28 from the field and 24-for-32 from the free throw area. Being the team’s main man, opposing teams are expected to devise strategies to slow down Antetokounmpo. The Greek Freak was still able to dominate, which makes the feat more impressive, said Dame.
Giving way to Giannis
Lillard is also capable of scoring at will. His career-high in points is 71, which ranks eighth in the NBA all-time record for most points scored by a player in a game.
But against the Pacers, Dame took a backseat after seeing Giannis was on a roll.
“I think anytime a great player gets in that type of flow and is going like that, you got to allow them to get going and try to contribute to it, and also appreciate it when you’re there to be a part of it and to witness it,” said Lillard.
Damian has never had a teammate as explosive as Giannis. And for the 12-year veteran, playing alongside the Greek Freak is such a luxury.
“It’s an honor to share the floor with him, and it’s extremely comforting for someone to have somebody like that,” Lillard said.
