Damian Lillard says “OKC you later” to the Thunder
Only eight times in NBA league history has a series ended with a buzzer beater. Kawhi Leonard, Tom Heinsohn, Ralph Sampson, and Derrick McKey each have one. Some guy named Michael Jordan and Damian Lillard are the only players to have two.
Five years after sending James Harden packing, Damian Lillard had the chance to do it to Harden’s ex and future teammate, Russell Westbrook.
The two star point guards have had a storied history with each other. While they have had epic matchups before, one could point to January 19, 2019 as the beginning of their beef.
In the 2018-2019 season, Dame and the Blazers outplayed expectations all year, earning the third seed in the playoffs. Despite what they had shown, some NBA pundits couldn’t help picking the star-studded Oklahoma City Thunder to upset Portland in round one.
Zach Buckley of BleacherReport picked the Thunder to down the Blazers in six games and wrote:
“Shout-out to the Blazers, who seemed primed for regression from last season but played their way back into the West’s No. 3 seed… The Thunder swept the season series 4-0 and have the length and athleticism to pester Portland on the perimeter. Russell Westbrook and Paul George are statistical prodigies, and Steven Adams could be the difference-maker with Jusuf Nurkic out.”
Those words made no difference to Lillard, though. He went out and dominated Westbrook and the series, averaging 33 points while holding Westbrook to a sub-par 22.8 points per contest. Behind Dame’s inspired play, the Blazers cruised to a 3-1 edge, with an average victory margin over 12 points.
To cap off a great series, Damian Lillard wished the Thunder a happy early off-season, scoring 50 points, the last three of which came from this:
With the game-tied, the last possession in his hands, and one of the best perimeter defenders in the league guarding him, Dame calmly called for an iso, wound down the clock, and hit one of the greatest “bad shots” in NBA history.
After that shot, Lillard waved good-bye to the Thunder. The following offseason, Paul George and Russell Westbrook would be moved. Dame not only ended a series, but a whole franchise run.
Let’s see what he can add to his playoff resume this postseason.