The pairing of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard finally appears to be working the way the Milwaukee Bucks had hoped when they acquired Lillard from the Portland Trail Blazers over a year ago. When the Bucks initially brought in Lillard, it was believed that the combination of the two superstars would immediately make the team a championship contender again.

Turns out just putting them on the same team together wasn’t as seamless. Lillard and Antetokounmpo performed well individually for much of the past year, but have yet to form a cohesive tandem. This was such an important story for the Bucks that several people even called the trade for Lillard a “failure.”

The pairing seemed to have improved significantly, especially in the last two games. In the Bucks’ 129-117 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Friday, Lillard joined Antetokounmpo for multiple assists, and Lillard finished the game with a double-double as Antetokounmpo recorded 37 points and a triple-double. In the following game against the Charlotte Hornets, both Lillard and Antetokounmpo scored over 30 points.

Lillard credited the adversity the two experienced with helping them get better. The Bucks started the season 2-8 but have since improved to 8-9 as Lillard and Antetokounmpo played better together.

“Sometimes when you go through tough times and people talk about our team and say all kinds of things about our guys individually, they put you in a situation where it’s really all about us,” Lillard said, via Eric Nehm of The Athletic. “It’s us, and then it’s everyone else.”

“I think we’re honestly getting to the point where we’re tuning out everyone else,” Lillard explained. “It’s just a lot of communication between the two of us, you know?

Antetokounmpo attributes their collaboration to simply spending more time playing together, which gave them time to grow as a duo.

“It’s just time. It’s time,” Antetokounmpo said of Nehm. “I know. I can tell. I can tell by the rhythm. I can tell by his dribbling. I can tell when he’s trying to attack. I know when he wants the ball now. I know when he refuses becomes.

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