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Doc Rivers Offered Simple Five-Word Description of Damian Lillard's NBA Cup Takeover

The Bucks needed Lilllard to go off to stave off elimination—and he did.

Liam McKeone

Lillard dominated down the stretch for the Bucks to take down the Magic
Lillard dominated down the stretch for the Bucks to take down the Magic / Benny Sieu-Imagn Images
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While Giannis Antetokounmpo was his usual dominant self, Damian Lillard was the biggest star of this year's first NBA Cup elimination game on Tuesday night. He scored 29 points to pair with the Greek Freak's 37 and led the Milwaukee Bucks past the Orlando Magic in the quarterfinal of the in-season tournament. It was no sure thing despite the Magic missing both Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner; Orlando fiercely battled to the final seconds of the 114–109 Milwaukee victory.

Lillard, as is his reputation, shined when his team needed him most. The superstar point guard scored 11 of the Bucks' final 13 points, providing an early-season glimpse of Dame Time and getting the fans at Fiserv Forum on their feet. His biggest bucket came with just over 30 seconds left, a layup through the teeth of the Magic defense to give the Bucks a lead they would not relinquish.

Asked about his stellar fourth quarter takeover after the game, head coach Doc Rivers offered a simple explanation: "That's just Dame being Dame."

Lillard has certainly had his struggles in Milwaukee but his crunchtime performance has been consistently outstanding, carrying over from his many years in Portland. It serves as no surprise he showed up at the biggest moment in Tuesday's quasi-playoff game.

Dame Time continues in Las Vegas as the Bucks take on the winner of the Atlanta Hawks-New York Knicks grudge match for a spot in the NBA Cup Final.

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Liam McKeone
LIAM MCKEONE

Liam McKeone is a senior writer for the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has been in the industry as a content creator since 2017, and prior to joining SI in May 2024, McKeone worked for NBC Sports Boston and The Big Lead. In addition to his work as a writer, he has hosted the Press Pass Podcast covering sports media and The Big Stream covering pop culture. A graduate of Fordham University, he is always up for a good debate and enjoys loudly arguing about sports, rap music, books and video games. McKeone has been a member of the National Sports Media Association since 2020.

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