The Milwaukee Bucks will be "tough to stop" in the Eastern Conference race this season after pairing star point guard Damian Lillard with two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.
That's according to former Buck Michael Carter-Williams, who believes the Boston Celtics may emerge as Milwaukee's closest rivals after picking up Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis.
After 11 years with the Portland Trail Blazers, Lillard joined the Bucks in a huge three-team trade in the offseason.
He made an immediate impact as Milwaukee began their 2023-24 campaign with a 118-117 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday.
Lillard finished with a record-breaking 39 points on his Bucks debut, surpassing Terry Cummings' 34 points on his first outing for the team back in 1984, while Antetokounmpo added 23 points and 13 rebounds.
With those two stars linking up, free agent Carter-Williams – who represented Milwaukee between 2015 and 2016 – expects his former team to enjoy an exciting season.
"They're both amazing players. The things that they do on the court are tough to stop," Carter-Williams – who will play in the G League in Mexico City as he awaits an NBA offer – told Stats Perform.
"You put those two together, it's a tough combination, and they're immediately one of the best combos in the league.
"It's going to be interesting to see what they can do and like I said, they're both huge talents so they're going to be tough to stop."
Carter-Williams was surprised to see Lillard land in Milwaukee, but he says the team had to do everything possible to secure him in the huge trade.
"I was shocked," he said. "I didn't see that coming, I thought it was going to be Miami or Toronto, or there was one other team in the mix.
"I didn't see him going into Milwaukee, but the trade made sense. Obviously, it's tough to give up Drew [Timme] but when you're getting a guy like Damian, I think anybody besides Giannis is liable to get traded."
After Antetokounmpo was taken by the Bucks as the 15th overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft, Carter-Williams had the chance to play alongside him during his formative years.
Reflecting on his time as a team-mate of Antetokounmpo, Carter-Williams said: "It was great, especially seeing him play early on in his career and watching his development.
"Every day, you could see him slowly getting better and better and just to watch his work ethic… he's an unbelievable person.
"He's a better person than he is a basketball player and I think that's what makes him unique.
"Watching him play has been great, as a friend, as a fan, as a team-mate, it's been awesome to see."
Milwaukee's offseason moves have seen them touted to improve on 2022-23, when they topped the East but were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Miami Heat.
Boston also went down to Miami in the playoffs after finishing second in the East, and they have subsequently strengthened by adding former Bucks guard Holiday and Porzingis from the Washington Wizards.
Carter-Williams expect last season's top two to battle for supremacy in the Eastern Conference again, saying: "I like the Bucks and the Celtics in the East.
"The Celtics getting Porzingis and Jrue are two huge pickups for them. I like them coming out of the East, in the West, we'll see how things shake up.
"I think if Anthony Davis and LeBron [James] can be healthy, I think they [the Los Angeles Lakers] are a tough team, they have built a nice little roster over there.
"Then there's Denver, who you can't count out, they got [Nikola] Jokic and they just won it so I think those two are at the top in the West."
The Celtics moved to 2-0 for the season by beating Miami 119-111 on Friday, with Holiday and Porzingis finishing with 17 points apiece.
Doncic hails 'team player' Washington after Westbrook confrontation
Luka Doncic saluted "team player" P.J. Washington following his confrontation with Russell Westbrook during the Dallas Mavericks' victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Mavericks prevailed 101-90 in Game 3 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round series, with Doncic falling just shy of a triple-double with 22 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.
Although, it was a feisty affair at the American Airlines Center, where Washington and Westbrook were both ejected after an altercation following the latter's foul and shove on Doncic.
The five-time NBA All-Star was grateful for Washington's support and intervention, paying tribute to his team-mate.
"The things he does, he's a team player," Doncic said. "He helps all of us. I'm just really happy we've got him on our team.
"I'm used to [getting subjected to extra physicality. I just try to stay calm and keep playing basketball."
Mavericks coach Jason Kidd was also pleased by the togetherness demonstrated by his players with emotions running high.
"We're all competing for each inch to try to win," he said. "This series is going to be more mental as it goes on, just because of the physicality.
"It's very physical, but the mental aspect of this series, we have to be sharp and we have to understand what's taking place. I thought the guys did a great job of protecting one another."
Durant urges Suns to use fans' frustration as 'fuel' towards playoff recovery
Kevin Durant has urged the Phoenix Suns to use their supporters' frustrations as 'fuel' to reduce their first-round series arrears against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Suns fell 3-0 behind in the series as they went down 126-109 in Game 3 at Footprint Center, where Anthony Edwards led the way for the Timberwolves with 36 points.
No team has overturned a 3-0 deficit in NBA playoff history, and the home fans' disappointment in their side's performance was evident with many heading for the exits long before the contest's conclusion.
Durant, who finished with 25 points, empathises with the supporters.
"They expect so much out of us, and they pay their hard-earned money, and they deserve to react how they want to react," he said. "It's on us as players to use it as fuel, and hopefully it ignites us for the next game [on Sunday]."
The Suns have now lost five successive playoff games - the joint-longest streak in their history - and face the prospect of getting swept for the first time in a quarter of a century.
"I've never been swept a day in my life," guard Bradley Beal said. "I'll be damned if that happens."
Head coach Frank Vogel added: "There's no quit in our group. This group does not want the season to come to an end. We want this really bad, so it is disappointing. It is frustrating.
"We're all very invested in this, and we're all pouring everything we have to bring these fans a team they could be proud of, and we feel like we can still do that, but we haven't played well enough in this series."
NBA: Haliburton lifts Pacers to 2-1 lead; Wolves take 3-0 lead and Mavs go up 2-1 on Clippers
Tyrese Haliburton capped his first career playoff triple-double with a three-point play with 1.6 seconds left in overtime that gave the Indiana Pacers a 121-118 win over the Milwaukee Bucks in Friday's Game 3 of an Eastern Conference quarterfinals series.
Haliburton's winning shot and 18-point, 10-rebound, 16-assist performance lifted the sixth-seeded Pacers to a 2-1 lead in this best-of-seven series, which resumes in Indianapolis with Sunday's Game 4.
Indiana also received a big effort from Myles Turner, who set a playoff career-high with 29 points and grabbed nine rebounds.
With the game tied at 118-118, Haliburton was fouled by Patrick Beverley as he drained a 15-foot floater with time winding down. The All-Star point guard then calmly hit the ensuing free throw for a three-point Indiana advantage.
The third-seeded Bucks were able to get a shot off before the buzzer, but Khris Middleton's 3-point try missed the mark as time expired.
Middleton did record a playoff career high of 42 points to go along with 10 rebounds on a night Milwaukee was again without Giannis Antetokounmpo due to a strained left calf that's sidelined him the entire series.
Damian Lillard scored 19 of his 28 points in the second half for Milwaukee, which overcame a 17-point third-quarter deficit to force overtime on Middleton's 3-pointer with 2.3 seconds remaining in regulation.
Doncic leads Mavericks to chippy win
Luka Dončić fell just shy of a triple-double and the Dallas Mavericks turned up the defense in a chippy 101-90 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers for a 2-1 lead in their first-round series.
Doncic finished with 22 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists and Kyrie Irving scored 19 of his 21 points in the final 13-plus minutes, including eight in the final 78 seconds of the third quarter.
The Mavericks continued their strong defense from Tuesday’s Game 2 road win and won at home three years after losing all three first-round home games in a seven-game loss to the Clippers.
Game 4 is Sunday in Dallas.
James Harden and Norman Powell each scored 21 points but stars Paul George and Kawhi Leonard had little impact, combining for just 16 points on 7 for 18 from the field.
An already testy game reached a boiling point midway through the fourth quarter, when Russell Westbrook slung Doncic around after fouling him.
Westbrook was called for a technical for that contact and for shoving P.J. Washington after Washington confronted him. Washington was also called for a tech during the sequence, and already had one from an earlier shoving match with Terance Mann.
Edwards, balanced Timberwolves handle Suns
Anthony Edwards scored 36 points to lead six players in double figures and the Minnesota Timberwolves rolled to a 126-109 win over the Phoenix Suns to take a commanding 3-0 lead in their first-round series.
Edwards had nine rebounds and five assists, Rudy Gobert added 19 points with 14 rebounds and Karl-Anthony Towns chipped in 18 points and 13 boards as Minnesota took a 3-0 series lead for the first time in franchise history.
They can complete the sweep in Game 4 on Sunday.
Minnesota for the third straight game used a big third quarter to turn a close game into an easy win. The Wolves hit 7 of 11 3-pointers during the surge, including four from Nickeil Alexander-Walker, for a 95-73 lead entering the fourth.
Phoenix never got the deficit below double digits in the fourth and is one loss away from getting swept for the first time since 1998-99.
Bradley Beal scored 28 points and Kevin Durant added 25 for the Suns, who played without starting guard Grayson Allen (sprained left ankle). He led the NBA in 3-point shooting percentage this season.
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