'Frustrating' -- Damian Lillard laments Bucks' injuries after playoff exit - ESPN

INDIANAPOLIS — After spending the hours leading up to Game 6 getting around-the-clock treatment on his injured right Achilles, Milwaukee Bucks star Damian Lillard said he decided he wouldn't be able to enter the summer without knowing he did all he could to be on the floor.

Lillard returned after missing Games 4 and 5 of the series, but the shorthanded Bucks did not have enough against the Indiana Pacers, dropping Thursday's game 120-98 and losing the series in six games.

«I don't think I would've went into the summer feeling good about much if I felt like I let the team go out there and me not at least try,» said Lillard, who finished with 28 points.

The Bucks could not overcome the loss of Giannis Antetokounmpo, who missed the entire playoff series because of a left calf strain. He didn't appear in another game after sustaining the injury April 9.

«It's definitely disappointing because you know how much better of a team we are when he's on the floor and how much things change when he's on the floor,» Lillard said. «You play an entire 82-game season. You go through training camp, you go through all the ups and downs of a NBA regular season, and you get to the point where, all right, now we're going to play for everything. And you're not whole. You don't have the best opportunity to reach where you want reach. So it is frustrating, it's disappointing, but it's part of the game.»

Bucks guard Malik Beasley added: «This just sucks. It sucks, man. I don't even know what to think. I'm not worried about where I'm going to be next year. I'm worried about, I'm more concerned that we just got beat in the first round. I came here for a championship. I bet on myself. I bet that we would win, and we just came up short.»

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