MILWAUKEE – Damian Lillard has dealt with all kinds of injuries during his 13 seasons in the NBA, but he’s never had to worry about recovering from a concussion before.

His return from the concussion protocol put the Milwaukee Bucks guard in a much more familiar situation.

Lillard returned after a three-game shutdown and made a game-winning layup with 3.9 seconds left in the Bucks’ 101-100 victory over Houston that ended the Bucks’ five-game winning streak on Monday Rockets.

“That was actually the first time in my life I had a concussion,” Lillard said after the game. “I played football. I box all the time. I’ve been in situations where you would think I’d had a concussion before, but for the first time.

“When something is wrong with me, I usually feel like I can get through it and be okay. This was probably one of the first times in my life and certainly in my NBA career where I thought, ‘Something isn’t right’. It was a bit frustrating because I had no choice but to go through the process. I just had to acknowledge how I felt and I knew I wasn’t completely right.”

Lillard performed up and down in his return. He collected 18 points and 10 assists, but missed all six of his three-point attempts and couldn’t convert some contested layups he normally makes.

But when the game was on the line, Lillard delivered, as he has done throughout his career.

“I think he’s one of the best to ever do this, like finish the game,” Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo said.

Lillard’s closing skills caused Bucks coach Doc Rivers to draw comparisons to one of the greatest shooters ever.

“Lady just has a lot of courage, you know?” Rivers said. ‘Reminds me a lot of Ray Allen in that respect. Ray didn’t have many bad shooting nights, but when he did, if you had even one chance, you wanted to go to him. about Dame. Whether he’s on fire or not, he just has something inside him that he believes he has to take the last shot and make the last shot, and he does it again and again.

The Bucks trailed 100-99 when Lillard had the ball in his hands in the final seconds. He drove into the lane, split two defenders and made a driving layup that put Milwaukee ahead for good.

“I felt like it was one of those games where I just had to keep going and keep my foot on the gas,” Lillard said. “It just came down to those last two plays. I had one more to go and we were able to get a stop on the other end.”

It was the kind of moment Lillard desperately wanted to experience during his difficult week at work to get back on the field.

“I was really trying to work my way through the protocols so I could get back,” Lillard said. “I think it ended up working against me. I did a 30-minute bike ride, a 30-minute treadmill ride, and half an hour on the track in one day, all to try to see how I felt. I saw that I wasn’t that good.” And from then on I did 45-minute workouts on the court, trying to do it quickly, less breaks, things like that, just to push myself to make up for not being on the ground. “