The Milwaukee Bucks cruised past a depleted Philadelphia 76ers, 124-109, led by superstars Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Dame Time scored 30 points and hauled nine rebounds while the Greek Freak contributed 22 points, grabbed 14 rebounds, and dished out nine assists.
The duo’s performance was expected but there two other guys that made a mark in the game. Both of them are new recruits by the Bucks.
Taurean Prince looked like he wouldn’t miss, going six out of seven to score 16 points. He was 4/5 from the three point line.
Gary Trent Jr. is another new Buck and although he scored only five points, he still got a huge shoutout from Lillard for his defensive energy throughout the game, especially guarding All-Star Tyrese Maxey.
Lillard and Trent Jr. played together with the Portland Trailblazers and the former can’t help but be amazed by Trent’s improvement on defense, starting from their first together where he was tasked to guard Lebron James and the Los Angeles Lakers in the bubble.
“They started him on Lebron James and nobody can guard Lebron but the fact that was his assignment tells you like he may not have that reputation but I’ve seen him do it,” Lillard told reporters.
“Tonight he came in on a mission. He knows what his role is on our team. He knows what we need for us to win.”
Milwaukee Bucks got Gary Trent Jr for both offense and defense
Trent Jr. appears to be the exact player Bucks wanted.
He is a streak shooter who can help free up the space for both Lillard and Antetokounmpo.
While the popular opinion says he is all about the 3-point shots, Trent Jr. believes he can do more with his defense. This is why he is trying to learn more about playing the two superstars by contributing too on the defense.
“Here, it’s different players and different talent that gives you a certain comfortability,” Trent said in an interview with Eric Nehm of The Athletic. “When I’m guarding the ball up, I’ll be able to pressure more, I’ll be able to try to turn them a little bit more when I know I have Giannis or Brook on the backside that can protect me.”
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