The Milwaukee Bucks saw two of their players making an NBA All-Star appearance this year. It proved to be a wonderful weekend for the host city in Indianapolis, Indiana. The weekend kicked off with a celebrity game. It followed up with a fantastic Rising Stars Game. Saturday saw a spectacular skills challenge. But the main event by far was Steph Curry and Sabrina Ionescu shooting the lights out head-to-head. But the crowning event was the All-Star Game. The game made history, even if it wasn’t quite what fans expected. Some of the past NBA voices have said how much they would like to see the game return to a level of competitiveness.
Milwaukee Bucks MVP Winner
Damian Lillard won the NBA All-Star Game MVP award this year. The Milwaukee Bucks guard finished with 39 points. He also pitched in 6 assists and 3 rebounds. It started in the first quarter. While a lot of the attention was on the home crowd favorite, the product from Weber State wasn’t far behind. Although Tyrese Haliburton started five of five from three-point range, his barrage wasn’t enough.
ANOTHER HALF-COURT SHOT FOR DAMIAN LILLARD ?
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) February 19, 2024
The Indiana Pacers player finished with 32 points. However, Lillard outlasted him with 39 points. His performance was capped with a three-pointer from just beyond half-court. The game showed how deadly he can be. And even though defense isn’t a main theme of the All-Star game, at times they tried to slow him down. Granted it was never a full effort. But even during those fleeting moments, Lillard getting to his spot seemed inevitable.
Milwaukee Bucks Effort Paves The Way
History was made tonight. Maybe it wasn’t what fans will wish to remember, but it was a milestone. An All-Star team reached 200 points in an entire game. Again, this won’t rank too high in terms of notoriety. But it shows how great shooters can be when even given a little bit of space.
HALIBURTON HITS THE MILESTONE! ?
For the first time ever in #NBAAllStar Game history, a team has reached 200 points. ? pic.twitter.com/h262nwPgni
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) February 19, 2024
But for all of the scoring from threes, the forwards contributed down low as well. Lillard’s Milwaukee Bucks teammate Giannis Antetokounmpo contributed 23 points in 23 minutes to propel the point total forward. And this shows how skilled players are in today’s NBA. Being able to score one point per minute, while not hitting a three-pointer speaks to the multitude of avenues and length that players have. Additionally, the helps to show why critics of the lack of defense are sorely mistaken.
Milwaukee Bucks Shawcases Lack Of Concern Over Effort
Many complain that the NBA is no longer watchable. Additionally, many decree that it is a terrible product because of the complete lack of defense. However, the special play from Lillard shows how mistaken these claims are.
Tonight showed what zero defensive effort looks like. Furthermore, the skill and bag of tricks and technique these players have proves how impossible defending in the NBA is. While certain fundamentals and team concepts need to be reintroduced or reinforced, they try. And Kawhi Leonard is correct when saying that The lack of fundamentals is an issue. But letting Lillard go for 30+ points in any regular season game is a nearly impossible assignment. It doesn’t matter who the Milwaukee Bucks are playing on any given night.
For More Great Sports Content
Gabriel Enjoys all things sports! Football, soccer, basketball, volleyball. You name it! Huge fan of the Nebraska Huskers and New England Patriots. Even bigger advocate of running the football!
Follow him on Twitter at @BigTenGabriel, and follow us @TotalApexSports. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in ALL sports, click here! Additionally, for Betting insights, stats and tips go to our Total Apex Sports Bets page!