Damian Lillard speaks to ABC after Milwaukee’s dominant performance in the NBA Cup title game:

“It felt extremely connected out there. After the difficult start we had (to the season), the only way out was for us to be together and do it as a cohesive group. We found our way out of it. “So the most important thing was coming here tonight knowing that there was a lot at stake for our team. How connected we were tonight when the stakes were so high and I thought we played like that.

On the Bucks’ defense against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander:

“He’s an elite scorer. It seems like you see him scoring 30, 35, 40 points every night. It’s not a one-man job, it’s a team effort. We just wanted to get him to see bodies. We were physically active, we communicated, everyone stayed under pressure, we closed, we protected each other and we kept it up for four quarters.”

On the Bucks’ turnaround in the NBA Cup after a 2:8 start to the season:

“We just had to come together. Everyone was talking about us. A lot of criticism, people talking about the team we weren’t, and we knew who we were coming out of camp day in and day out in training, and we just had to trust, we had to come together in tough times, and I think , if you keep fighting and sticking together and pushing through, you can experience things like this.

If you see lower-paid teammates receiving NBA Cup prize money:

“It’s amazing. It’s about the group. It’s not about one man, two men, three men, it’s about the group. Not just on the pitch, but in our lives. We spend a lot of time together. When you’re away from your family, sitting on the buses, in the locker rooms, or in the shower, spending a lot of time together, you want people to be okay. For our younger guys who can’t make it, the kind of money that the max players and the $10-12 million that the players make, you want because you know it’s a life-changing opportunity. That’s why I’m really happy for these people.