Lillard Drops 43 Points To Steer Milwaukee Against Philadelphia

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Damian Lillard was a one-man wrecking machine for the Milwaukee Bucks after unleashing 43 big points in their huge win over the Philadelphia 76ers, 135-127, in the ongoing NBA regular season on February 10, 2025.

Lillard went unconscious from the field and capped off the win with an efficient 14/27 shooting including eight made three-pointers out of 15 total attempts.

The scoring machine guard stepped up when Giannis Antetokounmpo was ruled out again due to a left calf strain and has yet to make his return since February 3, 2025.

With the way that Lillard navigated through the Philadelphia defensive schemes, it seemed like the Bucks would still be fine without the presence of Antetokounmpo. Too savvy and too crafty in the pick-and-roll, the daredevil floor general abused every switch mismatch he had and drove against the defense of Joel Embiid and Guerschon Yabusele.

When the 76ers decided to Blitz Lillard in the closing minutes of the second frame, the point guard was wise to give up the rock quickly and found his open shooters.

That sequence paved the way for Milwaukee’s dominant second-half performance as the 76ers picked their poison, and that was to let the other guys do the scoring instead of Lillard.

As a result, Lillard was able to feed Kyle Kuzma, Gary Trent, Bobby Portis, and Brook Lopez who all delivered when the Bucks needed their scoring the most.

Portis was the recipient of Lillard’s drop passes in the dunker’s spot and finished with a stellar double-double outing of 18 markers, 13 rebounds, and five assists.

Meanwhile, the trio of Trent, Lopez, and Kuzma chipped in 23, 15, and 13 points, respectively, en route to a one-sided affair in the last two quarters.

The 76ers still held onto their slim seven-point lead in the first half but Milwaukee’s momentum-stealing 38-28 run in the third helped them balloon their biggest lead of the ball game to 25 points.

Milwaukee’s much-needed victory helped them bounce back from a disappointing loss at the hands of the Atlanta Hawks while the 76ers dropped their third consecutive loss of the season.