Damian Lillard saluted the spirit and determination shown by team-mate Giannis Antetokounmpo ahead of the Milwaukee Bucks' NBA Cup semi-final showdown with the Atlanta Hawks.

The Bucks endured a difficult start to the 2024-25 season, winning just two of their opening 10 games.

However, they have turned their fortunes around - winning in 11 of their subsequent 14 outings, including five straight victories in cup play.

That sealed their second successive NBA Cup semi-final appearance, and Lillard highlighted the attitude of Antetokounmpo as a key factor in the turnaround.

"His mind was never shut off, he was never discouraged, he was never overly concerned," Lillard told reporters.

"There was always fight. Our conversations had always been like: 'We're going to turn it around, we're going to figure it out, we've got to lead, we've got to keep going, we've got to dominate'.

"That was the conversation and that's my spirit, naturally. Just to be in a situation like that and to see that that's his spirit naturally as well, that's what made me just believe.

"I wasn't overly concerned. I knew that, eventually, it would turn around just based off of that. We've got ourselves going in the right direction.

"We've been able to win a lot of games lately, and this is just another opportunity for us to continue that - but with more on the line, and with us getting even more momentum from an experience like this."

Antetokounmpo acknowledged the Bucks' difficult start to the season forced the team to increase their urgency levels, and the power forward has seen the benefits of that in recent weeks.

"We were playing very, very bad basketball at the beginning of the year, and we just needed to win games," he said. "It's a feeling you don't like.

"I think we definitely had, as a team, a little more urgency. We had to fix some things. We had to play more team basketball, we had to compete at a higher level.

"We were just trying to turn the season around for us. We were bad. Now, we've been competing, we've been playing better, guys are together, and we've had a great stretch. We've just got to keep it going."

Semifinal prep. pic.twitter.com/gX3sXv2HMM

— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) December 13, 2024