Trail Blazers defense secures wins as Lillard plays out of his mind: Tuesday Lunchtime Blazer

Damian Lillard is playing perhaps the best basketball of his already impressive career. But without aggressive, crunch-time team defense, the Trail Blazers might still be treading water in the ultra-competitive and ridiculously tight Western Conference.

There’s not much more that can be said about the Portland Trail Blazers’ Damian Lillard.

He’s posting phenomenal (even for him) numbers across the offensive-stats board. During the Blazers’ current seven-game winning streak, he’s playing like a league MVP: 32.6 points, 6.4 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game. And he’s shooting 46.1 percent from the field, including 36.8 percent from three.

All this while giving Rip City fans a near-nightly dose of Lillard Time, the most recent of which came Monday against the Lakers in Los Angeles.

Trail Blazers vs. Lakers

The Trail Blazers (38-26; third in the Western Conference) beat the Lakers (28-35; 11th in the West) for the 15th straight time Monday, putting a stop to L.A.’s five-game winning streak. It was the Blazers’ seventh straight victory.

After an abysmal third quarter in which the Lakers outscored Portland 25-15, the Blazers rallied in the fourth.

Dame Time

Most people are going to remember Lillard’s heroics — and for good reason. With about four minutes left in the game and the Trail Blazers down by seven, Lillard simply turned it on, hitting four consecutive three-pointers to pretty much will his team to victory.

It was an astonishing display of greatness; just another example of one of the league’s best doing what only the best can do.

So stunning was Lillard’s lighting bolt of offense, that it left the Blazers’ TV crew of Kevin Calabro and Lamar Hurd screaming with delighted surprise (Calabro) and laughing with a sort of knowing wonder (Hurd).

Defense! Stomp-stomp! Defense! Stomp-stomp!

Lillard finished with 39 points, six assists and five rebounds. And yet, even with that masterful offensive display, it was the Blazers’ defense (and offensive rebounding) that secured the win.

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Consider some of the plays leading up to, during and after Lillard’s fourth-quarter knockout blows from beyond the arc:

6:11 left

Shabazz Napier blocks Isaiah Thomas.

4:49 left

Jusuf Nurkic grabs defensive board.

4:29 left

Al-Farouq Aminu steals the ball from Julius Randle.

4:09 left

Aminu hauls in a defensive rebound.

4:04 left

Lillard makes first of four consecutive threes.

3:44 left

Nurkic grabs defensive rebound.

3:37 left

Lillard makes second of four consecutive threes, and the Lakers call a timeout.

3:26 left

Nurkic grabs another defensive rebound.

3:14 left

Lillard makes third of four consecutive threes.

2:51 left

CJ McCollum plays tough, aggressive defense on Kyle Kuzma, who manages to make a driving hook shot.

2:22 left

Lillard makes fourth of four consecutive threes.

2:09 left

More tight defense by McCollum on Kuzma, who’s knocked to the floor and makes 1-of-2 free throws. The Lakers secure the rebound, though, and Lonzo Ball hits a contested three.

1:16 left

Nurkic grabs yet another defensive rebound. This was followed in quick succession by good defense (again) from Lillard, Napier and McCollum.

56.2 left

McCollum defensive rebound.

32.8 left

Lillard offensive rebound.

7.9 left

Napier offensive rebound.

1.5 left

Napier blocks Thomas’ three-point attempt.

1.0 left

And finally, with the Blazers up by five, 108-103, and with no chance for the Lakers to tie the game or take the lead, Lillard still contests L.A.’s inbounds pass as if the game was on the line.

Winning Streak

Take a quick look back at the play-by-play during Portland’s winning streak; you’ll see this type of defense at the tail end of several of those victories. This is the kind of thing that should have Rip City fans walking around with a big smile on their faces.

Next: Write about the Portland Trail Blazers at Rip City Project

Offense gets the highlights.

Defense wins championships.

And since the All-Star break, the Trail Blazers have shown that they’re willing to put in the work on the defensive side of the court. That’s a really good sign.

Dame’s gonna bomb from three. But it’s gonna be the Blazers’ defense that determines just how high they can climb in the standings — and just how far they can go in the playoffs.