NEW YORK With five players scoring at least 19 points, the Milwaukee Bucks defeated the New York Knicks 130-111 on Saturday afternoon to win their seventh straight game. This gave Bucks star Damian Lillard hope that the team is beginning to find its footing.

After scoring 19 points in the victory on Saturday, Damian Lillard stated, “You put a lot of really good players together, it takes time to jell, get to know each other and make things work for everybody.” “Now you’re starting to see us win in a different type of way because we’re starting to get to know each other better.”

Leading the Bucks with 28 points, seven assists, and seven rebounds was Giannis Antetokounmpo. With 19 points, Malik Beasley joined Lillard. In addition to matching a season-high 20 points, Khris Middleton played a season-high 33 minutes. In addition, Bobby Portis recorded the most double-doubles in the NBA with 23 points and 11 rebounds, his fifth of the season off the bench.

We’re become more at ease, Lillard stated. “When you can speak in a somewhat different way, it’s different. You are aware of their preferences. You are aware of someone’s desires. You’re able to make it function. We’re just getting better, and I believe this game tonight demonstrates that.”

December saw Milwaukee jump to 8-1, with its lone defeat coming at the hands of the Indiana Pacers in the Las Vegas in-season tournament quarterfinals. The Bucks have scored 130 points 12 times this season, which is the most in the NBA. They are third in the league in terms of points per 100 possessions.

Additionally, the Bucks’ offence is operating at an even greater level this month; in December, they had the league’s best offence with 125.9 points scored per 100 possessions. Based on analysis by ESPN Stats & Information, the Bucks are averaging 132.4 points per game in their last 10 games, which is the most in the franchise’s history over a 10-game timeframe.

This month, Milwaukee’s defence has also advanced significantly. Following their victory on Saturday, the Bucks, who had begun the season ranked 29th in defensive rating after five games, are now up to 19th in that category. Since the beginning of December, the Bucks have held opponents to 114.7 points per 100 possessions, ranking 10th in the NBA this month.

“Experiences and time,” Lillard added. As a group and as individuals, we’ve all experienced frustrating times when we expected more from ourselves. It’s common for guys like Giannis and Khris, who are unfamiliar with one other, to experience moments of frustration when they’re put in a new environment. Since you want things to work well for everyone, even when they might not be going your way or comfortably for you. We simply continued to solve it. We just kept looking for answers; we didn’t break up.”

“Communication is key,” Middleton continued. particularly when facing a seasoned squad that doesn’t practise on the court all that much. Whenever we get together, we frequently discuss the game and how we should and want to play it. We are figuring out how to enhance one other’s games.”

Because of this, Lillard made it clear that those advancements were not coincidental and that they were heading in the correct way. Milwaukee was forced to face and fix its problems up front due to an erratic start to the season (the Bucks were 5-4 through nine games), and he thinks it’s beginning to pay off.

“We don’t come in and let things keep rolling, we come in and we try to find answers and try to improve,” Lillard stated. “We’re not dodging issues. We’ve talked about everything: how to space the floor, what works for me, how to improve our defence, what works for Brook defensively, what we need to do in our second group, our struggles both offensively and defensively, what works for Giannis and Khris, and how to space the floor.”