Damian Lillard returns from
month-long absence, has mixed results in Bucks 123-115 loss to Pacers
[April 23, 2025]
By MICHAEL MAROT
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — All-Star guard Damian Lillard wanted to give the
Milwaukee Bucks a lift Tuesday night.
So he called coach Doc Rivers in the morning and told him he would
return for Game 2 of their first-round playoff series after missing
the past month because of a health scare. Rivers didn't argue with
his team down 1-0.
Lillard gave it everything he could in Indianapolis, finishing with
14 points on 4-of-13 shooting while playing 37 minutes in a 123-115
in a Game 2 loss.
“It felt pretty good given the fact that I haven’t played in so
long," Lillard said. “Jumping back into a playoff game, I’d say it
felt pretty good. I felt pretty solid.”
Clearly, he wasn't himself after battling deep vein thrombosis in
his right calf. He only practice three times since last playing
March 18 and couldn't even do much cardio work to stay in game
shape.
It showed.
While there were flashes of his pre-absence play, such as the 3 he
made with 2:31 left to get the Bucks within 115-113, his
explosiveness was not there. And he appeared to wear down in the
second half when he was 1 of 7 from the field and 1 of 6 on 3s.
“I got a little winded, but I think everyone got a little winded,”
Lillard said. "I wasn’t really thinking about if I was tired, it was
just like I’m out here and I’ve got to do what I got to do.”
Just getting back on the court this quickly was a major victory for
Lillard, though.
The blood-clotting disorder usually keeps players out months, not
weeks, something Rivers feared may happen after learning the ailment
was more serious than the initial diagnoses.
Lillard even opted to take a little extra time to get his body back
in shape for the rigors of the postseason.
Still, Rivers and Lillard said they would both be monitoring his
health during the game and Rivers told reporters before the game he
would pull Lillard out if he noticed fatigue. But when the Bucks
needed a late push to get within striking distance of evening the
series, Rivers thought it was better to keep his nine-time All-Star
on the court.
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Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard (0) gestures after a
three-point basket against the Indiana Pacers during the second half
of a first-round NBA basketball playoff game in Indianapolis,
Tuesday, April 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
That led to some late-game jawing between Lillard
and Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton as the Bucks lost for the fifth
time in their last six postseason games against Indiana.
“Down the stretch I just kept him in, I used it sort of as
conditioning,” Rivers said. “He was exhausted and I saw that, and I
thought just let him blow it because we've got two days to recover.
That's basically why I kept him in.”
Game 3 is Friday in Milwaukee, and the Bucks certainly could use
Lillard's help — if he can be as effective as he was before being
held out.
Lillard averaged 18.3 points, 9.3 assists and 5.5 rebounds while
shooting 35.5% overall and 38.9% from 3-point range in four
regular-season games against Indiana this season. In last year's
first-round series, he averaged 31.3 points against the Pacers, who
won the series 4-2.
Two-time league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo missed all six of those
games with a a calf injury but scored 36 points and had 12 rebounds
in Game 1 and followed that with 34 points, 18 rebounds and seven
assists. It was the first playoff game Antetokounmpo and Lillard
played together.
Now comes what could prove the harder part — protect their home
court, clawing their way back into the series and avoiding a third
straight first-round exit without knowing whether Lillard will be
ready to play in Game 3.
“The biggest question for us is the recovery,” Rivers said. “The
trick is trying not to get him into that point of exhaustion because
then it's hard to come back. So that's the trick we were doing
tonight."
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