Moral Victory? Damian Lillard Weighs In After Bucks’ Loss To Celtics

The odds were stacked against the Bucks on Wednesday night, but they made the Celtics earn every bit of their latest win.

Boston is a brutal matchup for the majority of the NBA, but even more so when the opposition's best player isn't available. That's the situation Milwaukee found itself in at TD Garden, where Giannis Antetokounmpo didn't suit up against the Eastern Conference's runaway best team.

The Bucks still brought it to the Celtics, clawing all the way back from a 21-point fourth-quarter deficit to make it a one-possession game late in the frame. Boston ultimately earned a 122-119, but Milwaukee deserved a ton of credit for its tenacity and will to win in the face of adversity.

Damian Lillard, however, didn't chalk it up as a moral victory for his side.

"There's no moral victories or nothing like that," Lillard told reporters, per Sports Illustrated. "We wanted to win the game regardless of who is on the floor because we think we got a good enough team regardless, as we've shown.

"We've been saying it's about the journey and us pushing towards the team we want to become and at the right time of the season and this is part of that."

Doc Rivers also didn't classify the loss as a moral victory. However, he reminded the Bucks they simply lost a battle against the Celtics, not the war for the Eastern Conference.

And if these teams are at full strength with a trip to the NBA Finals on the line, it figures to be a highly entertaining and hard-fought series.