The Milwaukee Bucks did not have the services of superstar forward Giannis Antetokounmpo available on Sunday against the Phoenix Suns. This only meant that the rest of the squad had to step up to try and fill part of the void the former back-to-back MVP left amid his injury absence.
To say that the Bucks responded magnificently would be an understatement. This resulted in an impressive victory over a star-studded Suns side, 140-129.
Bobby Portis Comes Up Big for Milwaukee Bucks
One of the stars of the show on Sunday was veteran big man Bobby Portis, who came up with 31 points off the bench to help his squad. The 6-foot-10 forward/center caught fire from beyond the arc, sinking all five of his attempts from deep.
Lillard, who led the charge for Milwaukee with a massive 31-point, 16-assist double-double, had nothing but good things to say about Portis’ strong performance against the Suns:
“We all know that he’s a scorer and he can fill it up,” Lillard said of Portis, via Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “He gets going, he can really get going and change the game. So, he made his first couple shots and I think as a team we saw it and we just fed him. Anytime he had an inch or he was the next guy, even if he was covered, we was throwing him the ball and he just kept it rolling and kept it rolling
Khris Middleton made his return to action on Sunday after a lengthy injury layoff, and he too made headlines by dropping a cool 22 points in his first game back. The three-time All-Star also had to give Portis his flowers after the big man’s eye-opening outing. For Portis, it’s all about feeding the hot hand:
“He’s a guy, once he gets hot, let him keep going,” Middleton said.
Hopefully, Portis will keep the fire going in Milwaukee’s next game. This comes in the form of a much-anticipated Eastern Conference showdown against the mighty Boston Celtics at the TD Garden on Wednesday night.
