By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
The second NBA night of the 2023-24 Regular Season had only two games, but they became contemporary instant classics for different reasons. Talking about the Milwaukee Bucks‘ 118-117 win at home against the Philadelphia 76ers, it marked Damian Lillard’s debut.
The former Portland Trail Blazers guard erupted for 39 points, adding 8 rebounds and 4 assists while being perfect at the line (17/17). After the game, Milwaukee’s number 0 commented on his debut, becoming the player with the most points in his debut with the franchise.
“It was definitely different. It’s like I’m looking around like I’m the new guy, even though I’ve been in this league a long time. I came in here to be a part of winning, and I think I’ve started to settle in just by how I’ve been embraced and what the team is saying to me behind closed doors”, Damian Lillard stated.
Playing for the first time an official game alongside the Greek Freak, he seemed to be in the zone, while Giannis Antetokounmpo contributed with a double-double of 23 points and 13 boards, despite losing the ball seven times. “He had the hot hand. You’ve just got to keep on feeding him. What works, you’ve got to keep going to what works”, the two-time NBA MVP said after the win.
On the losing end, the 76ers still didn’t have James Harden on board. Joel Embiid posted up 24 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists, and Tyrese Maxey was his team’s leading scorer with 31 points, 4 rebounds, and 8 assists, shooting 10/22 from the field.
Except for Giannis, Europeans didn’t play in this game: Thanasis Antetokounmpo stayed on Milwaukee’s bench the whole time, while Filip Petrusev and Furkan Korkmaz were sidelined by Doc Rivers.
LeBron James had the upper hand over Kevin Durant
In what was the first official matchup between LeBron James and Kevin Durant since December 2018, the Chosen One had the better of the former Oklahoma City Thunder‘s small forward.
Helping Los Angeles make the final push with a 28-11 run in the fourth quarter, the number 23 went close to a triple-double with 21 points, 8 rebounds, and 9 assists, while Anthony Davis put up a double-double of 30 points and 12 boards.
“We’ve had so many battles, we don’t have many matchups left. Not sure how many we have left, so you don’t ever want to take it for granted when you’re out there with such a great player, one of the best to ever play this game. It’s always a treat. It’s fun”, the 38-year-old commented on Durant.
On the other side, instead, Kevin Durant had a magnificent losing effort of 39 points and 11 rebounds, but he wasn’t enough to get the victory against the Lakers, as both Devin Booker and Bradley Beal had to miss the encounter. Officially debuting with Phoenix, Jusuf Nurkic had a rough shooting night (1/5 FG), scoring only 4 points and grabbing 9 rebounds.
“Someone you just compare yourself to. If you could accomplish and achieve some of the stuff that he’s done, you’re doing pretty solid for yourself. It’s just a baseline for yourself as a player to see how great you can be. It was tough. He was pretty much coaching the team on how to guard certain actions. That’s what he’s been doing his whole career. It’s always a battle playing against high-IQ players like that”, the former Golden State Warriors player added about the King.
PHOTO CREDIT: Milwaukee Bucks on X