Lillard: Bucks' vibes high after 5th win in last 6 games

Damian Lillard believes the Milwaukee Bucks are finally trending upward after securing a third straight win Friday - the fifth in their last six contests.

"I think the vibes with our team are high right now, and I think part of it is because we've experienced lows together," Lillard said following Milwaukee's 129-117 NBA Cup win over the Indiana Pacers, according to The Athletic's Eric Nehm. "Sometimes, when you experience tough times and people are talking about our team and saying all types of stuff about our guys individually, they put you in a situation where it's really just us. It's us, and then it's everybody else.

"So, when you in a hit together and then you start to come out of it, it's not like we're coming out of it and we're not doing it together. We're doing it together on both sides of the ball, and everybody's getting opportunities."

With the win, Milwaukee improved to 2-0 in the tournament group stage and now sits atop Group B with a plus-26 point differential. The Bucks have also jumped eight spots in the East thanks to their recent turnaround; they had the second-worst record in the conference at 2-8 before beating the Toronto Raptors on Nov. 12 - also for the NBA Cup - but now sit sixth in the East at 7-9.

Their current three-game winning streak aligns with Lillard's clearance from the NBA's concussion protocol. The eight-time All-Star was out for three straight games, the last of which was Milwaukee's controversial one-point loss to the Charlotte Hornets in which referees admitted they erred in awarding LaMelo Ball what amounted to the game-winning free throws.

Lillard has registered 10 or more assists in all three contests since his return after failing to do so in his first 10 games of the season. Though he's shot just 38.9% from the field during this winning streak, he's been Giannis Antetokounmpo's most frequent setup man, assisting the Greek star on 10 of his 40 field goals in that stretch.