MILWAUKEE — Way back in September, before the Milwaukee Bucks had gotten off to a 2-8 start, or bounced back to win the NBA Cup, or traded franchise icon Khris Middleton, or saw Damian Lillard go down with a blood clot, or fallen behind the Indiana Pacers 2-0 in their first-round playoff series, the hot topic at media day was free-agent signing Gary Trent Jr.
The veteran shooting guard had surprised many around the league by inking a one-year, veteran minimum contract with the Bucks in a move that was hailed as arguably the best value signing of the summer. Few in Milwaukee knew him better than Lillard, who was Trent’s veteran when he entered the league with the Portland Trail Blazers.
“I remember him being extremely confident,” Lillard said at media day. “I remember the first day he walked into the gym. He was trying to convince me that he was really like that. He’s not shy at all. He was really like that.”
Nearly seven months later, Lillard, with two of his children on his lap, sat at the same podium deep inside Fiserv Forum as a vindicated man. With the Bucks’ season essentially on the line in Game 3 on Friday night, Trent drained nine 3-pointers en route to 37 points in a 117-101 win that closed the series gap to 2-1.
The nine 3s tied Ray Allen’s franchise record for a playoff game, and the 37 points were a playoff career high for Trent.
“One thing that I told the team when they were trying to get Gary here and when I was trying to make that connection and bring him here, I told them that this is one of the most confident players that I’ve played with and an unshakeable guy,” Lillard said. “His confidence is steady, his work ethic is steady. Very stubborn and he’s a guy that’s not gonna fold up when moments come. He’ll be there. That’s one thing that I would have stood on the whole time with Gary.”
Desperate for a boost at home, Bucks coach Doc Rivers inserted Trent into the starting lineup in place of Taurean Prince. It proved to be a perfect adjustment. Rivers was thrilled with Trent’s aggressiveness on both sides of the ball, particularly the way he pressured Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton, who had controlled the first two games of the series.
And then, of course, there was the shooting.
“There are players who turn themselves off,” Rivers said. “Gary’s not gonna do that. When Gary gets it going, he’s gonna go for it, and we love that.”
The Bucks had little going in the first half. They shot 18 of 48 from the field, including 4 of 23 from 3-point range, and trailed by 10 going into the break. It would have been worse if it weren’t for Trent, who had 13 points to keep them somewhat attached.
On the first possession of the second half, the Pacers got a steal and a layup to push their lead to 12 before most fans had even gotten back to their seats. It looked like it could be another long night for the Bucks, but Trent had other ideas. He made five 3s and scored 18 points in the third, matching the Pacers’ entire output for the frame and turning the game on its head.
By the time Trent hit his ninth 3 late in the fourth quarter on a tidy pump fake and step-back to put the Bucks up by 20, the crowd was chanting his name: “Gary! Gary! Gary!” Trent called it a “blessing” and a “testament to my hard work” to have such a night and be mentioned in the same breath as a legend like Allen.
“It’s almost like a fulfilling feeling, because I’ve put a lot of work, a lot of time, a lot of hours. I’ve sacrificed a lot of things going into this,” Trent said. “The cream always rises to the top.”
Perhaps the only person in the building more pleased than Trent himself, was Lillard.
“When he has a performance like he has tonight, I know how much he really believes in himself,” Lillard said. “This type of game doesn’t surprise me and it came at a time when we needed it.”
