GIANNIS Antetokounmpo tipped in Bobby Portis’ missed shot with 18.1 seconds remaining for the game-winning points and the Milwaukee Bucks rallied past the visiting Portland Trail Blazers 108-102 Sunday afternoon in Damian Lillard’s first game against his old team.
Mr. Lillard totaled 31 points, but misfired on a 3-pointer with 24 seconds left and the score tied at 102-all. The ball came to Mr. Portis and he couldn’t convert a follow shot, but Mr. Antetokounmpo was there for the tie-breaking tip-in.
After a replay reversal on an Antetokounmpo foul set up the All-Star’s block on Malcolm Brogdon’s potential game-tying 6-footer with 14.1 seconds to go, Mr. Lillard capped off his big game with four clinching free throws for his sixth 30-point game of the season.
The win was Milwaukee’s seventh in its last eight games, while Portland lost for ninth time in its last 10 outings. Mr. Antetokounmpo was the game’s leading scorer and rebounder with 33 and 16 for the Bucks, who outrebounded the visitors 52-40.
Malik Beasley chipped in with 14 points, Mr. Portis 12 and Brook Lopez 10. The meeting was the first since Portland ended an 11-year relationship with Mr. Lillard, dealing him to the Bucks in the offseason in a three-team deal that brought Jrue Holiday, Deandre Ayton and Toumani Camara to the Trail Blazers along with a 2029 first-round pick.
Portland in turn flipped Holiday to the Boston Celtics for Malcolm Brogdon, Robert Williams and 2024 and 2029 first-rounders. The clubs will meet again on Jan. 31 in Portland in a homecoming for Mr. Lillard.
Mr. Brogdon (18 points, game-high 12 assists) and Mr. Ayton (14 points, team-high 13 rebounds) recorded double-doubles for the Trail Blazers, who led by as many as 15 points in the fourth period and retained a 95-82 advantage with 8 minutes left before the Bucks eventually reeled them in.
Mr. Portis had eight straight points, including a pair of 3-pointers, in a 20-4 burst that gave Milwaukee a 102-99 lead with 2:13 left, before a 3-pointer by Jerami Grant produced the game’s final tie and set up the tight finish.
Mr. Grant had a team-high 22 points for the Trail Blazers, who were tipping off a five-game trip. Shaedon Sharpe added 17 points and Scoot Henderson 13. — Field Level Media
