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Jamal Collier, ESPN
Milwaukee staged a remarkable comeback to defeat the Trail Blazers 108-102 on Sunday, marking the largest comeback in the current NBA season.
Trailing 81-55 with 9:08 left in the third quarter, the Bucks rallied to outscore the Blazers 58-21 for the rest of the game. The duo of Damian Lillard (17) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (15) combined to outscore the Trail Blazers 32-21 during this period.
Antetokounmpo, who ended with 33 points, broke a tie by tipping in a basket with 18.5 seconds left to put the Bucks ahead for good.
“Sometimes we just make it tough on ourselves,” Antetokounmpo said. “We can’t start the game like that. We should not be down 26 and then try to come and win the game. That takes a toll on your body. But at the end of the day, I’m happy we were able to win.”
According to ESPN’s win probability analytics, the Trail Blazers had a greater than 98% chance of winning the game during the third quarter, making the Bucks’ historic comeback even more astonishing. This marked Milwaukee’s second-largest comeback in the last 25 seasons.
“Just being resilient and staying with it,” Bucks forward Bobby Portis said. “Things weren’t going our way. Whether shots are going down, the one thing you can always rely on is effort and energy and going out there to play for each other. I think we did that in the second half.”
The Bucks improved to 12-5 this season despite playing without forward Khris Middleton, who missed the game due to injury. Bucks coach Adrian Griffin called Middleton day-to-day but added there was no timeline for his return.
“I think things are promising,” Griffin said prior to the game. “We’ll see [about playing Tuesday]. We’ll just keep evaluating him everyday and see how he feels each day.”
Sunday’s game marked the first time in his career Lillard played against Portland, his former team. Lillard requested a trade this summer from Portland and eventually was moved to Milwaukee before the start of training camp.
Lillard acknowledged the strangeness of the matchup with his former team during a postgame interview. “Once we started playing, I got over it quick,” he said.
Lillard’s 31 points against his former team made him the 15th player in NBA history to score 30 points against 30 different franchises, according to Elias Sports Bureau.
Sunday also marked the second straight game both Lillard and Antetokounmpo scored 30 points, the second pair of Bucks teammates to do so and first since 1978.
“As the season moves forward, we’re going to figure out ways to play with one another,” Antetokounmpo said. “At the end of the day, Dame has to be Dame. I have to be me. As the games go on, we’re going to keep on figuring ourselves out. The moment we are clicking on a higher level, it’s going to become even more scary as we move forward.”
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