The first blow in the Pacers game was landed by Damian Lillard and the Bucks

At the end of the first quarter, Damian Lillard had the ball, the offense, and 16 points all to himself in Milwaukee.

Rivers followed the same path on the sideline as Lillard dribbled into the frontcourt with 13 seconds remaining. Grabbing the players’ attention with both hands, the head coach of the Bucks motioned for them to move aside so that Lillard could work alone. The seasoned point guard waved Bobby Portis away as he crossed half court, despite Portis’s rush to set a screen.

This was an opportunity for Rivers and the Bucks’ other players to put their faith in Lillard and let him step up to the plate. Nothing can cement those feelings more than doing so during a pivotal moment in a game. The Bucks head coach and point guard have been developing that trust over the last few months, both on and off the court.

Lillard isolated against Indiana Pacers backup point guard T as the crowd stood to applaud. J. McConnell. Eight-time All-Star guard Damian Lillard dribbled in front of his body from left to right and then from right to left in between his legs. Lillard used his left hand to dribble inside-out before stepping back to his left and then between his legs again to go from left to right. He then jabbed McConnell with his right foot before gathering with a step back to his left.

Lillard got up for a three from 29 feet out, and as the buzzer went off, he buried it.

Lillard, who had scored 19 of the Bucks’ 30 points in the first quarter, walked back toward his teammates on the bench as the Fiserv Forum crowd went wild in his first-ever playoff game as a Milwaukee Buck. Lillard gave a straightforward speech as he moved up the left sideline and turned to face the ferocious crowd of Bucks supporters encircling him.

With a confident slap across the front of his jersey, Lillard declared, “This is what ya’ll brought me here for.”.

Giannis Antetokounmpo’s left soleus (calf) strain kept him out of the starting lineup for Game 1, so Damian Lillard stepped up and led the Bucks to their first-ever playoff victory, 109-94. Following up on his 19 points in the first quarter, Lillard added 16 more in the second to reach 35, which was the highest point total scored by a Bucks player in a single half of a playoff game.

After the game, Lillard told The Athletic, “It was fun.”. “Maybe once more, and that was in ’19,” I believe. “.

Actually, it was Lillard’s third 30-point opening half in a playoff game. The most memorable instance of the future Hall of Fame point guard doing so was, as Lillard accurately recalled, in the Portland Trail Blazers’ Game 5 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2019 NBA Playoffs. He most recently did it in a Game 2 loss to the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the 2021 NBA Playoffs. That was the evening when Lillard bid Thunder farewell with a buzzer-beating stepback three against Paul George.

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Five years later, Lillard created franchise history for the Bucks, wearing a different name on the front of his jersey for the first time in his twelve-year NBA career. Lillard accomplished something in his Milwaukee playoff debut that none of the other players in the 56-year history of the Bucks, including Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, had done.

The Athletic was told by Lillard, “I was just in attack mode.”. “I wasn’t thinking, ‘Hey, I’m going to score a ton of points tonight. Win the game was all that was required. Take necessary action. Be brash. Attack at all costs. And that concluded things. Though it’s not always possible and isn’t easy to accomplish, I’m sure Giannis and Kareem are also capable of it. “.

Although Lillard finished the game with 35 points, six rebounds, and three assists due to the Pacers double teaming him as soon as he got the ball, Lillard’s dominant first half set the tone and gave the Bucks all they needed to win without Antetokounmpo on the court.

“He moved us. “He was amazing,” remarked Rivers. “I assumed he was just playing within his limits. Extremely assertive, precisely how we desired him.

“The other thing, the biggest difference, in my opinion, was that he made the game go south before it was released. As if he had attacked the basket to begin the game. We had a conversation about that. It was really good because I believed that’s where the 3s led after the attack. Get to the paint and basket, and the floor will open up. “.

Lillard got going by getting to the rim and the free-throw line, but he missed his first attempt of the game, a catch-and-shoot mid-range jumper on the left baseline.

Lillard got downhill and floated a beautiful lefty finish high off the glass over Pascal Siakam’s head one possession after that missed jumper. In the pick-and-roll, he attacked Siakam and two possessions later, drawing a foul on the left sidelines. Following that infraction, the Bucks ran a corner pin-down dribble handoff for Lillard on the sideline inbounds play. He cut it short and pulled up for a three, drawing a foul on Andrew Nembhard for being too close to Lillard’s lead.

Rivers stated, “You know that old rule: never foul a gunslinger.”. He becomes enthused. His first attempt was unsuccessful. He missed a clear opportunity to score, was fouled, and was forced to make three free throws. And while I believe he was leaving anyhow, that didn’t hurt at all. “.

Lillard got things going from there.

Lillard had plenty of room to move and kept the Pacers guessing by alternating drives and pull-up jumpers because Brook Lopez and Bobby Portis were setting screens for him close to half court and the Pacers had decided not to trap to start the game.

During the first quarter, Lillard exploited the Pacers’ inability to establish an offensive rhythm by attacking off of their misses and searching for openings against a transition defense that was ill-prepared to stop him.

Additionally, Lillard effortlessly blew past defenders and reached the rim when the Pacers were too aggressive and denied him 3-point opportunities.

After making that game-winning 3-pointer with a buzzer, Lillard scored his only basket of the first half and went to the bench. To begin the second quarter, Rivers granted Lillard a five-minute break. The Bucks extended their lead to 20 points during that span.

It was evident that the Pacers would not allow Lillard to defeat them in the same manner as he had done in the first quarter when he returned with 7:08 remaining in the second quarter and the Bucks leading 44-24. In an attempt to trap Lillard and take the ball out of his hands, they began to pay closer attention to Lillard, which caused them to make mistakes such as leaving their best player unguarded for a catch-and-shoot three.

By halftime, Lillard’s offensive game was so well-established that even in situations where it appeared as though his rhythm had been broken, he was able to create a new one and finish another shot.

A fantastic defensive player is Myles Turner. The 7-footer did well to prevent Lillard from having a catch-and-shoot opportunity by rotating to him early. Yet when the 6-foot-2 guard assessed him and simply shot over him, there was nothing he could do about it.

For Lillard, it was just one of those nights.

“It was fantastic. Khris Middleton, who finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds, remarked, “I’ve seen that on television a lot.”. “We witnessed it during the season’s opening contest. A few times, I’ve been on the other side of that. It was fantastic to be on the same side of it. He gave us the tone. He came out, made the opening punch, and gave us a strong lead that he maintained throughout the entire game. “.

It didn’t matter that Lillard didn’t score in the second half of Sunday’s match. Game 1 of the series without Antetokounmpo was easily won by the Bucks thanks to his strong play in the first half. The Bucks were able to win by 15 points because the Pacers made it easy for him and his teammates to play with double teams for the entirety of the second half.

In the pregame press conference on Sunday, Rivers stated he had no particular message for Lillard. He felt that his seasoned point guard had enough experience and had participated in enough playoff games to know exactly what his team needed at that precise moment, and he met that need. However, the relationship that Rivers and Lillard have developed over the past three months in Milwaukee is the foundation of that trust.

For Lillard, that has been a unique relationship.

While the Bucks were getting ready to play the Pacers this week, Rivers kept asking Lillard when the point guard would take him out to dinner so they could discuss their mutual interest in boxing.

We should talk about boxing, he said. And I thought, ‘Let’s go,'” Lillard stated to The Athletic. “He asked me where, when, and what time.”.

Thus, on Wednesday night, Lillard made reservations for himself and Rivers at a well-known steakhouse in Milwaukee’s downtown after making a few calls around his new city.

“We did it, and I told him,” Lillard remarked. But rather than just saying, “Oh, we’re talking,” we simply chopped it up. Not dinner with the coach and the point guard, just dinner with Doc. We just talk about boxing all the time. “.

During the post-fight interview, Rivers made light of the fact that, in their dinner conversation, he had chosen Ryan Garcia over Devin Haney in the WBC super lightweight championship bout—the surprising result on Saturday night—and declared that he was obviously the more knowledgeable boxing mind. Lillard downplayed the importance of their dinner, but he did not downplay the importance of his friendship with Rivers.

Lillard said, “We’ve connected.”. “I’ve always appreciated his approach to coaching. He speaks the unpopular thing. I appreciate that he doesn’t hesitate to confront s—. I enjoy talking about the awkward circumstances that are the elephant in the room. That is how it has always been in my family. It’s how you get over things and develop. That has always been his style, which is why I like it.

The greatest players are challenged by him in public. That, in my opinion, is how to maximize the team’s potential. But most importantly, I believe—and he’s stated this before—the coaches can’t get points and rebounds; they can only gain something from winning, so I can tell that’s what he ultimately wants based on his actions and words. It’s the chance to win too that brings me here. “.

Rivers was brought to Milwaukee midway through the season to ensure the Bucks fulfilled their potential as a title contender, much like Lillard was brought in for the biggest games prior to the season. Although it was just one game and the Bucks have a long way to go before they can even consider raising the Larry O’Brien Trophy, Lillard took the lead on Sunday with the help of his head coach.

Following the game, Rivers declared, “His confidence is literally unshakable.”. He has an attitude similar to that of a prizefighter. He appeared to be preparing for the fight, almost. And he appears to be prepared when the bell rings. That is how he plays and that is his mindset. “.

Damian Lillard’s photo courtesy of Stacy Revere/Getty Images.