Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard. Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

Damian Lillard makes history in Bucks postseason debut

By Sai Mohan | Last updated 4/22/24

If history is any indicator, Damian Lillard is one of those players who turns it up a notch during the playoffs. With his heroics in Portland behind him, Lillard got the chance to make new memories Sunday as he made his postseason debut for the Bucks.

By the halftime break, Milwaukee realized it wasn't sold a bill of goods. The franchise quickly understood that Lillard does turn into a different beast under the brightest lights.

That's because Lillard, for the third time in his career, dropped over 30 points within the first half of a playoff game. His 35 points also marked the highest first-half production by any Bucks player in history.

According to ESPN, Lillard's 35 points were the second most by any player in the first half of a playoff game in the past 25 years, behind only Kevin Durant's 38 points in 2019.

This was Damian Lillard's third FIRST HALF of his career with 30 or more points in the #NBAPlayoffs presented by Google Pixel. Since 1997-98, no player has more such halves.

Damian Lillard - 3x
Devin Booker, LeBron James - 2x https://t.co/Qq3RUElooI
— NBA.com/Stats (@nbastats) April 22, 2024

Lillard couldn't sustain his momentum in the second half, going scoreless through the third and fourth quarters. However, his Bucks held on for a 109-94 win over the Pacers, riding high on their defense and the second-half production of Bobby Portis (15 points) and Khris Middleton (23 points).

Dame tonight:

1st half — 2nd half —
35 PTS 0 PTS
11-19 FG 0-5 FG
6-10 3P 0-1 3P
19 MIN 18 MIN pic.twitter.com/89Os0QkDn4
— StatMuse (@statmuse) April 22, 2024

After the win, Lillard admitted that he wanted to make his mark in his Bucks postseason debut, especially after he sat at home the last two years due to Portland's failure to reach the playoffs.

"The last two years not being in the playoffs, it sucked," Lillard told reporters. "Early vacations. Last year, I went to Coachella. I ain't never been able to go to Coachella. Just having that long summer, I was over that. But being able to be in a playoff series, on a championship team, on championship organization, knowing that we got an opportunity for it, that was the thing I was looking forward to most."

Lillard definitely announced himself in style to the Bucks fanbase. Can he continue his hot streak? Game 2 tips off at 8:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday. The series then shifts to Indiana for Game 3 on Friday. The Bucks could get injured star Giannis Antetokounmpo back at some point during the series.

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