Damian Lillard woke up on Tuesday morning and called Doc Rivers to tell him he was ready to return and boost the Bucks in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference’s first-round series. As his team was 1-0 down, the head coach didn’t argue and let him play after weeks out of action.
The veteran guard had missed out the last month due to a health scare, but had slowly progressed in training and finally felt up for the challenge this week. Dame certainly tried his best, end the night with 14 points on 4-of-13 shooting, after playing 37 minutes in their 123-115 loss in Indiana.
In general, the 34-year-old was satisfied with his performance, after battling deep vein thrombosis in his right calf. “It felt pretty good, given the fact that I haven’t played in so long,” Lillard shared postgame. “Jumping back into a playoff game, I’d say it felt pretty good. I felt pretty solid.”
Since last playing on March 18, he practiced only three times with the Milwaukee squad, and it showed. Even though he showed glimpses of his talent, he lacked explosiveness. In the second half, he was 1-of-7 from the field and 1-of-6 from beyond the arc.
“I got a little winded, but I think everyone got a little winded,” Dame admitted after losing Game 2 against the Pacers. “I wasn’t really thinking about if I was tired, it was just like I’m out here and I’ve got to do what I got to do.”
By the end of the contest, his frustrations came out as he entered a trash-talk brawl with rival star Tyrese Haliburton, who mentally took him out of the game. No wonder Dame wasn’t happy, as the Bucks have lost to Indiana for the fifth time in their last six playoffs clashes.
“Down the stretch I just kept him in. I used it sort of as conditioning,” coach Rivers said about Lillard’s display. “He was exhausted and I saw that, and I thought, ‘Just let him blow it because we’ve got two days to recover.’ That’s basically why I kept him in.”
