Trail Blazers fall 108-102 at Milwaukee Bucks after succumbing to fierce comeback led by Damian Lillard

For three quarters Sunday afternoon, the Portland Trail Blazers put on a shooting and defensive clinic that had Damian Lillard and the Milwaukee Bucks on their heels playing catchup.

But ultimately, the far superior team, led by Lillard and fellow superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, was able to overcome a 26-point deficit in the third quarter by dominating the fourth, earning a 108-102 victory.

Blazers coach Chauncey Billups said his team simply failed to demonstrate the composure needed to close out the game.

“To be a really, really good team contending in this league, you’ve got to have composure,” Billups told reporters at the Fiserv Forum. “And I thought that our composure was good for the most part, but when it really, really counted, we came unraveled a little bit. And that’s a very experienced group. In a game like this, that’s exactly what you want, is to learn from that.”

The key moment came with seconds remaining.

With the Blazers down two and 14.6 seconds remaining, Malcolm Brogdon drove to the hoop, where Antetokounmpo blocked the shot before being called for his sixth personal foul.

The block, however, appeared to be clean upon further review. Bucks coach Adrian Griffin challenged the call and it was reversed.

“Once I seen it, I thought it would be a successful challenge because he got the ball first and then the hand,” Billups said.

That led to a jump ball which went to Lillard, who was immediately fouled. He made both free throws to give his team a 106-102 lead with 10.5 seconds on the clock.

The story of this game – beyond Lillard defeating the franchise he called home for 11 seasons – is simple to identify.

The Blazers, the worst three-point shooting team in the NBA, went 10 of 17 on threes in the first half to go up 68-52 at halftime. But they went 2 of 8 in the third and 1 of 7 in the fourth.

Those 12 missed threes in the second half helped open the door for the Bucks who didn’t shoot well (37.2% in the second half) but got to the free-throw line and hit on 16 of 22 attempts just in the second half alone. They made 24 of 32 for the game, all from Lillard (13 of 14) and Antetokounmpo (11 of 18).

Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) blocks a shot attempted by Portland Trail Blazers' Shaedon Sharpe (17) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Nov. 26, 2023, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Aaron Gash) APAP

The fouling in the second half, Billups said, changed the game.

“At the end of the day, it’s a good teaching moment for us, a lot of our young guys,” he said. “Being able to sustain the way we were playing, which was tough to do. In the first half we played really fast, we rebound, we played, we’re going, we got the ball poppin’, we got it moving.”

Then in the second half, the game slowed down in part because of the Blazers’ 16 personal fouls.

“When teams are shooting free throws, you can’t run, obviously,” Billups said.

The game began to turn when the Bucks went on a 14-0 run in the third quarter to make their deficit more manageable. From there, the Bucks got the score down to 88-75 entering the fourth quarter.

The Bucks defense then held the Blazers to 14 points on 5-of-19 shooting.

Lillard scored 11 for the Bucks in the fourth quarter to finish the game with 31 on 7-of-21 shooting. Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 33 points and 16 rebounds.

Meanwhile, Jerami Grant led the Blazers with 22 points and Brogdon produced 18 points with 12 assists. Deandre Ayton, who missed the team’s prior game with back soreness, had 14 points with 13 rebounds.

“It was a tough one,” Billups said. “But I’m proud of our dudes. They played their butts off and they did the best that they can.”

WHAT IT MEANS

The Blazers (4-12) will probably lament this loss given their huge lead in the second half against a team the caliber of the Bucks (12-5). But the good news here is that Portland’s three-point shooting continues to improve. Over their last three games, the Blazers are 44 of 102 on threes (43.1%). They are shooting 32.9% for the season.

Continued growth in that area, and with Anfernee Simons due back within the next two weeks, the Blazers could start producing some victories.

Portland Trail Blazers' Deandre Ayton (2) shoots over Milwaukee Bucks' Brook Lopez during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Nov. 26, 2023, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Aaron Gash) APAP

CONFIDENT SCOOT

Rookie Scoot Henderson came off the bench to score 13 points with four assists. Maybe most importantly, he hit on 3 of 4 threes after entering the game 2 of 24.

“I thought Scoot played good,” Billups said. “I thought he was confident. Obviously, knocking down three threes. Getting to the rack. I thought he did a good job. He had five fouls at the end. But I still want him to be aggressive on both sides of the floor. But I could see his confidence continuing to pick up.”

NEXT UP

The Blazers’ trip continues with a 4 p.m. game Monday night at Indiana (9-6).