Atetokounmpo was relatively quiet, but Damian Lillard exploded for 36 points as Milwaukee cruised to a 36-point victory.

Milwaukee opened the 2023-24 NBA regular season with a 120-84 win over Charlotte on Tuesday morning at home at 토토사이트 Fifth Third Forum.

Milwaukee was led by Damian Lillard (26 points, 4 rebounds, 8 assists), Malik Beasley (21 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists), and Yanis Atetokounmpo (15 points, 15 rebounds, 3 assists).

The first quarter was particularly crucial. Yannis Atetokounmpo grabbed six rebounds to limit the opponent’s rebounding play and scored six points in the first quarter with his trademark power play. Damian Lillard also scored seven points with relative ease while he was in the spotlight.

With Atetokounmpo opening up space for other players to thrive, Milwaukee raced out to a 14-point lead, 31-17, after one quarter.

From there, there was no looking back. After leading by as many as 36 points, 35-21 in the second quarter (66-38 overall) and 33-25 in the third (99-63 overall), Milwaukee brought in Bobby Portis with six minutes left in the third quarter, bringing Atetokounmpo to the bench.

From there, they rested Lillard, Brooke Lopez-Malik Beasley, and Jae Crowder (to start the fourth quarter). While he didn’t replace them all at once, it was a declaration that he was effectively treating the entire fourth quarter as “garbage time.

Charlotte also brought in key players Miles Bridges (11 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists), Nick Richards (16 points, 11 rebounds), and Brandon Miller (16 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists).

In the fourth quarter, Brince McGaunce came off the bench to score 10 points, but neither team could close the gap, and the game ended with a 120-84 final.

With the win, the Milwaukee Bucks moved into third place in the East (34-19), half a game ahead of fourth-place New York (33-19). The Charlotte Hornets, meanwhile, dropped to 13th place in the East (41-10) and have lost 10 straight games.