Blazers Spoil Damian Lillard’s Homecoming, Stun Bucks 119-116

The Portland Trail Blazers stunned the Milwaukee Bucks at home Wednesday, defeating Damian Lillard in his homecoming 119-116. The win does little to impact either team’s starkly contrasting playoff hopes, but the game may be remembered for Lillard’s emotional reception before the game.

The longtime Portland point guard reluctantly left the team during the off-season, going to Milwaukee to form a powerful big three with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton. Lillard is a legitimate championship contender for the first time in his 12-year career, but leaving the Blazers was a meaningful and bittersweet sacrifice.

“Right now, I’m just in a space of like, this is where I am now. I’m in Milwaukee,” Lillard told ESPN before the game Wednesday. “I wanted the opportunity to contend, and our team has an opportunity to contend for this year and years to come, and I’m just living in that. But I definitely, when I was traded, I see a day where I’ll be in a Trail Blazer uniform again before I’m done.”

Lillard received an overwhelmingly warm reception as he stepped onto the floor Wednesday. Before the game, he anticipated recognizing faces in the crowd, a testament to his lengthy tenure with the team. Fans held signs thanking him and requesting his return someday.

Milwaukee’s point guard ended the night with 25 points and Antetokounmpo did his part with 27, but it was not enough, as the Blazers scraped together 119 points from nine different scorers. Portland improved to 15-33, keeping them in 14th in the Western Conference. Milwaukee, recovering from a sudden head coaching change, is still holding on to second in the Eastern Conference with a 32-16 record.

Lillard will once again part ways with Portland for now as the Bucks continue a West Coast road trip in Dallas on Saturday. But Wednesday’s game was an opportunity for him to take a look back with his first Bucks postseason run looming ahead.

“A lot of the things that I experienced here, I know that is going to always be a part of me,” Lillard said. “It’ll always be a part of me because everything that I’ve said, how I felt about my time, I meant it.”