Is Damian Lillard playing tonight against New York Knicks? Latest on Bucks' All-Star guard's status
Damian Lillard will suit up for the Milwaukee Bucks in their NBA In-Season Tournament quarterfinal against the New York Knicks. Lillard is not in the Bucks' injury report ahead of their Tuesday night battle at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, so he will be free to play.
However, the Bucks' injury report is somehow loaded, as two key players have been ruled out. Swingmen Jae Crowder and Pat Connaughton will not be in uniform for the Milwaukee Bucks tonight.
Crowder underwent surgery on his left adductor and abdominal tear following the Bucks' 112-97 loss last month against the Orlando Magic and will still be out until the middle of January.
On the other hand, The Athletic's Eric Nehm reported that Connaughton will also sit out the Milwaukee Bucks-New York Knicks game to rest his sprained right ankle.
Nehm also reported that Andre Jackson Jr. is questionable for the said game due to his lower back spasms.
Jackson sat out the Milwaukee Bucks' Saturday night encounter against the Atlanta Hawks, but the two-day rest could factor in if he would eventually play or not.
Damian Lillard stresses importance of endgame brilliance
The difference in the Milwaukee Bucks' 132-121 win against the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday night at the Fiserv Forum was everything that transpired in the last five minutes.
The Bucks outscored the Hawks 18-7 in the endgame to break a 114-all tie to take the home win.
Damian Lillard, known for having a sizable number of clutch moments during his time with the Portland Trail Blazers, believes the Milwaukee Bucks have just learned enough to finish the game strong.
“I think sometimes we just have an understanding of how to win games," Lillard said. "In those moments, everything you need to do well, we start to do well.”
Damian Lillard also did a tremendous job in containing Trae Young in the end, to the delight of Giannis Antetokounmpo.
“We took the ball away from Trae Young. He wanted to make plays down the stretch. We blitzed him," Antetokounmpo said. "We made [Clint] Capela make the plays. We put him in an uncomfortable situation. You don’t want Young or [Dejounte] Murray making those plays, so we blitzed them and got it out of their hands.”
Young led the Hawks with 32 points but was scoreless in the fourth quarter, missing all of his five shots.