Damian Lillard Prepared to Stop Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks in NBA In-Season Tournament Quarterfinal
Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard wants to go to Las Vegas, but the New York Knicks stand in his way.
New York and Milwaukee will do battle for a trip to Sin City in Tuesday night's quarterfinal action of the NBA In-Season Tournament (7:30 p.m. ET, MSG/TNT). The winner faces the Indiana Pacers, Monday victors over Boston, on Thursday in Las Vegas for the right to represent the Eastern Conference in the inaugural battle for the NBA Cup.
Lillard, one of the key factors behind the Bucks' undefeated run in group play, said that one man in particular is capable of stopping Milwaukee's Vegas vacation.
"We've got to control the ball," Lillard said (h/t New York Basketball on X). "Jalen Brunson is aggressive. He's playing with a lot of confidence and he's the head of the snake, so we gotta handle that. We just can't let everybody be effective; I think the last time we played them (Quentin) Grimes came out, hit some threes early, Brunson was getting places, everybody was just kind of getting to where they wanted to get."
Brunson has played like a man on a mission this season, averaging 24.9 points, 3.7 rebounds and 5.5 assists on 46.7 percent shooting from the field and a career-high 47.4 percent from deep on an impressive 7.0 attempts per game.
Jalen Brunson is averaging a career-high 24.9 points per game while Damian Lillard is averaging 25.5 points per game.
Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
New York and Milwaukee already matched up once this year, with the Bucks winning 110-105 at home in both teams' first In-Season Tournament game on Nov. 3. Milwaukee led by as much as 14 before the Knicks inched back into it behind a season-high 45 points from Brunson had a season-high 45 points. The point guard's heroics weren't enough to overcome Lillard's 30 points and an astonishing eight-block performance from Brook Lopez.
"We were in no-man's land a lot of times where we weren't helping or stopping penetration or getting back to our guys," Lillard said. "We've just got to be sharp in our coverage and take the challenge and protect the home court, just knowing what's at stake: We've got to win this game and we move on."
The Knicks (12-7) have improved immensely after that loss, going 10-3 and performing much better offensively while maintaining a strong defensive identity. In addition to Brunson's consistency, the Knicks have enjoyed Julius Randle's return to All-Star form. Randle shot 5-of-20 in the first visit to Milwaukee but has averaged 23.5 points and 10 rebounds in the 13 games since.
