The Lillard-Giannis Bucks are still finding their way - ESPN

MILWAUKEE — THERE'S 1:10 left in the fourth quarter, and the Milwaukee Bucks trail the New York Knicks by two points, in danger of falling below .500 for the first time in two years.

Coming out of a timeout, the Bucks inbound the ball to former MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. Newly acquired star Damian Lillard watches the play unfold from the corner to Antetokounmpo's left. The 6-foot-11 big man dribbles twice toward the same corner and Lillard begins to make his move. The play was drawn up in the huddle as a dribble handoff to the corner, but Lillard uses his instincts and calls a slight audible.

First, Lillard breaks toward the basket, knowing his defender, New York's Quentin Grimes, would not want to allow him an easy layup. That move successfully gets Grimes chasing Lillard's back hip as he curls back up the court, behind Antetokounmpo's defender, Julius Randle, who has his full attention on the two-time MVP. Randle doesn't have time to react to Lillard, who receives the handoff with a screen from Antetokounmpo that creates enough space for him to knock down a 3-pointer and put Milwaukee in the lead for good.

«Once I kind of read where his body was, I knew I would be able to jump up and get that clean look,» Lillard said after the game. «I thought that was a really good action for me and [Antetokounmpo] to be on the clear side and have options. Where, even if he didn't hand it to me and his man jumped up when he saw me, [Antetokounmpo] still would have probably had a keep to the rim.»

The play showed off the kind of synergy the Bucks hoped to create when they sent shockwaves throughout the NBA a week before the start of training camp by acquiring Lillard from the Portland Trail Blazers to pair him with Antetokounmpo.