Despite the fact that the Bucks recently lost superstar forward Giannis Antetokounmpo for the near future with a calf strain, the team did get some reprieve with the recent return of Kevin Porter Jr. after he missed 19 games with an ankle injury.

Porter Jr. put together a dominant performance in Saturday’s 124-112 loss to the Detroit Pistons, scoring 32 points on 11-of-16 from the field overall and an eye-popping 7-of-9 from 3-point range. Porter Jr. also dished out six assists and grabbed four rebounds while also collecting four steals on the defensive end.

After his unbelievable night from 3-point range, Porter Jr. credited all the work he did on his jump shot while he was out nursing his ankle injury.

“I had a lot of time off, so at some point, all I could do was shoot the ball and catch and shoots and things,” Porter Jr. said. “So I tell myself I worked, I did the hard part, and just let my work show and trust it.”

After the game, Porter Jr. confirmed that his ankle has been holding up since he’s been back and that he considered the last two games against the Pistons and 76ers to be the true litmus test for how strong the ankle is given how tough each of those teams plays defense. Porter Jr. even joked that he can always count on his old coach, JB Bickerstaff, to play him tough. 

“Yeah, I'm all good,” Porter Jr. said. “You know, I'm still not fully healthy from the first sprain, but it's been holding its own, so I'm all good, though. Detroit knows what they be doing. J.B. Bickerstaff used to be my old coach, so I know every time we play, he's going to give me his all. J.B. beat me up, but yeah, I'm good.”

As for how he felt his ankle held up in those games, Porter Jr. felt the issue was that his body still wasn’t in tune with his mind in terms of how quickly he was making his reads and that he was even moving too fast through his reads at times.

“I feel like the first two games, Philly and Detroit, was my first two games with real physical defense, Porter Jr. said. “I feel like maybe I wasn't, but I felt too fast. Like I was moving too fast, and I was making my reads a second too quick, so I just tried to slow down."

“Even when they blitzed, retreat, dribble, see what's going on, let the play develop. I was more patient, I would say, so it worked out when it comes to turnovers.”

The Bucks return to action on Thursday to face the Boston Celtics at home.