With 2:31 remaining in the fourth quarter of the Milwaukee Bucks’ March 8 game against the Los Angeles Lakers at
Crypto.com Arena, the star tandem went to work. Giannis Antetokounmpo inbounded the ball to Damian Lillard and
followed him up the court.
Lillard resumed driving toward the basket, and Antetokounmpo established a screen around the 3-point line,
causing Lakers star Anthony Davis to redirect his focus to Lillard, who reacted with a bounce ball to Antetokounmpo.
When Milwaukee’s two-time MVP entered the lane, the Lakers’ defense swarmed him, and Antetokounmpo threw a
pass to the corner, where a wide-open Pat Connaughton hit a three to give Milwaukee the lead.
On the next possession, Antetokounmpo stole the ball from Connaughton, spun, and dribbled aggressively toward
Lillard, who charged for him from the corner. Antetokounmpo gave the ball to Lillard and established a screen to
give him ample space to shoot a three-pointer. Lillard knocked it down and was fouled by D’Angelo Russell, who was
attempting to recover. The four-point play gave Milwaukee a six-point advantage.
The lead wouldn’t last long that night, as Russell scored eight of his career-high 44 points in the final 1:13 seconds to
lead Los Angeles to victory sans LeBron James. Milwaukee had a terrible 1-3 West Coast road trip earlier this month,
with blowout losses to the Warriors and Kings.
However, in that Lakers game, Antetokounmpo and Lillard became the first teammates in NBA history to score 25
points and dish out 12 assists. They scored or assisted on 111 of Milwaukee’s 122 points, including every fourth-
quarter field goal.
Finally, combined, they appeared to be one of the league’s top pick-and-roll combinations. According to Second
Spectrum, Antetokounmpo set 23 on-ball screens while Lillard handled the ball, which is their third-highest number
in a game together this season.
After the game, Bucks coach Doc Rivers sounded encouraged by what he saw: Antetokounmpo and Lillard’s
developing chemistry. It’s a link he’s pushed since the beginning of his coaching career in Milwaukee.
