The Bucks defeated the Kings 143-142 Sunday night, as Damian Lillard hit a game winning three-point shot deep in the Fiserv Forum, adding to one of his signature “Dame Time” moments. Not only that, but this buzzer-beater/game-winner just so happened to be Lillard’s 2,500th career three-pointer, as must be remembered, he moved to fifth on the NBA’s all-time made 3’s list earlier this season.
The Kings held a four-point lead with 12 seconds left, until Brook Lopez nailed a corner three, to narrow the margin to one point, 141-140. Then after being purposefully fouled, De’Aaron Fox missed his first free throw, then made the second. With two points behind him, Lillard inbounded the ball to Lopez, who took it all the way up the court on his own. He then took four dribbles before cutting to his left and making an off-balance fadeaway three that was 32 feet deep as the buzzer sounded.
Dame was surrounded by Bucks players as the fans exploded and he showed everyone the time by pointing to his wrist.
Dame claims he reserves his trademark celebration for special occasions when questioned about it after the game. But they have been informing me… You know, toward the conclusion of some games, I’ve had some big shots. Dame said, “And they’re like, ‘Man, you didn’t even tap your wrist.'” “If you follow my career, you’ll see that I wasn’t just tapping my wrist in every game. I take action when required, and this evening it was.”
Dame then revealed what was going through his head while summarizing the previous play: “I advanced it to him [Lopez], and just took off running.I was aware that I would not cross the three-point line. and all I was seeking for was a way to enter space and have a clear view of the rim, which I achieved by simply changing my course and entering it. It was a reasonably easy shot.
It’s crucial to remember that what is a “comfortable shot” for Dame could be a difficult shot for someone else. Keeping this in mind, some may recall Paul George, who was guarding Damian Lillard, calling his iconic 37-foot buzzer beater in the 2019 first-round playoff series victory for the Trail Blazers over the Thunder, a “bad shot.”
Either way, Lillard’s game-winning play on Sunday is just one of many instances of his late-game valor and tight situations that have earned him the nickname “Dame Time” throughout the league.
“I’m never looking for a specific range to get into to feel good about the shot that I take,” the seven-time All-Star said when asked about his seemingly endless range after the game. “As soon as I get to space, usually I’m like I can make it, I think my belief in that helps me a lot in those situations.”
From tip-off to overtime, this game was a back-and-forth battle between the Kings (52.4% FG, 41.5% 3P) and Bucks (52.2% FG, 46.5% 3P), who were both making their shots on the night.
While Fox, Lillard’s opponent in the contest, finished with 32 points and five assists, Lillard finished with 29 points and eight rebounds. To top it off, Giannis Antetokounmpo, the running partner of Damian Lillard, finished with 27 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists—a triple-double for both big men on each squad. Domantas Sabonis of the Kings, on the other hand, added 21 points, 13 rebounds, and 15 assists. Other noteworthy performances came from shooting guards for the Kings, Malik Monk (28 points) and Kevin Heurter (26 points), and players for the Bucks, Bobby Portis (22) and Malik Beasley (23 points).
To be clear, there was some controversy late in the game when Mike Brown, the head coach of the Kings, was removed at 9:27 of the fourth quarter for fighting with the officials. Brown was actually so hot that his player, Monk, had to put him in a restraint while holding his arms in the hopes that he would cool off.
Coach Brown clarified his thoughts toward the officials during the postgame press conference, saying, “They’re human and they all make mistakes.” Brown then took out a laptop in front of the media. “I want to demonstrate to you guys why I was removed from the game.” He continued by displaying instances of calls that were made inconsistently during the game.
The Bucks advanced to 19-3 at home with the win tonight, and as Lillard said, it was an important victory. “They play fast, they fill it up, and they give themselves a chance in every game. They are a really good team,” Dame remarked. Thus, these are the kinds of games that you want to avoid losing. It’s a home game that we won well against a strong opponent. These are the ones you have to have—the second night of back-to-back events. When you reflect back on the games in March and April, you realize that, “Man, we let that one slip, we let this one slip, so this was a great one to have.”
With a 28-12 record as of right now, the Bucks are second in the Eastern Conference rankings. With a 23-16 record, the Kings are the sixth seed in the Western Conference.
