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 The Trail Blazers guard tapped the wrist in the closing seconds of
Portland's come-from-behind, 115-110 victory over the Oklahoma City
Thunder on Sunday night at the Moda Center.
The two-time All-Star knocked down five consecutive 3-point shots
and scored 17 points in the final 3:07 as the Trail Blazers (16-24)
snapped a three-game losing streak.
Lillard finished with 31 points, nine assists and seven rebounds.
Portland guard CJ McCollum added 22 points -- 15 in the second half
-- plus seven rebounds and six assists.
"Dame's ability to take over a game is incredible," Portland forward
Meyers Leonard said. "He's an elite scorer with the ability to get
his shot off at any time.
"But I'll say this: It didn't surprise me. We've all seen it before
from him. We've seen big shots. We've seen him put the ball in the
bucket in the fourth quarter, and over the last three minutes
tonight, he got it going."
Forward Kevin Durant scored 28 points and guard Russell Westbrook
contributed 25 points, nine rebounds and 15 assists for Oklahoma
City (26-12). Center Steven Adams had 17 points and 10 boards for
the Thunder, who lost for only the fourth time in the past 19 games.
Oklahoma City led 103-95 after guard Andre Roberson buried a 3-point
shot from the corner with 3:20 left. Then Lillard went to work,
hitting five straight threes over a 1-minute, 55-second stretch, the
last one giving Portland a 113-110 advantage with 1:12 to go.
"They were blitzing my pick-and-rolls the entire game," said
Lillard, who finished 8-for-14 on 3-point attempts. "They were
making it hard for me to turn the corner. I just knew I needed to be
more aggressive, looking at the rim and trying to make plays. I got
some good looks at the rim, and I let 'em fly."
Neither team scored again until the closing seconds, when Portland
forward Al-Farouq Aminu grabbed an offensive rebound off a missed
3-point try by Lillard and got the ball to the Blazers' point guard,
who was fouled. Lillard made a pair at the line with 1.2 seconds
left to seal the victory.
"An understatement: That was quite a performance by Dame in those
two minutes," Portland coach Terry Stotts said. "We were battling
the whole game, and he came up big. To hit five threes in two
minutes -- you don't see that very often."
Portland made a season-high 19 3-point shots in a franchise-record
44 attempts behind the arc. The Blazers outrebounded the Thunder --
who rank second in the NBA in rebound percentage, 52-42, grabbing 20
off the offensive glass. That allowed the Blazers to put up 24 more
shots from the field (100 to 76) than the Thunder. Portland also had
a 22-8 edge in second-chance points.
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"The second-chance points, the offensive rebounding, really hurt
us," Oklahoma City coach Billy Donovan said. "The 3-point line was
critical, too. The other thing was taking care of the basketball
(the Thunder had 19 turnovers). In all three of those areas, we
weren't able to control (the Blazers) at all. That's why we came up
a little bit short."
The teams battled back and forth through the first quarter, with
Oklahoma City -- taking advantage of 16 points in the paint --
carrying a 27-26 lead into the second period.
The Blazers moved in front 39-34, and a driving layup by forward Ed
Davis improved the advantage to 50-41 with two minutes left in the
second quarter. Portland settled for a 52-46 edge at intermission.
After the Blazers stoked their lead to 65-55, Oklahoma City answered
with a 27-9 run to go ahead 82-74. The Thunder's advantage was 85-80
heading into the final period.
Portland trailed 100-95 after center Mason Plumlee's layup with 3:55
to play. Roberson then made a 3-point shot to make it 103-95. That
was when Lillard's heroics were set into action.
"Dame has to be one of the best closers in the league," Plumlee
said. "He knows his spots and gets to them, and he shoots in rhythm.
When you have that combination, it makes you hard to guard."
NOTES: Portland G Damian Lillard scored 28 of his 31 points in the
second half. He matched his career high with the eight 3-pointers
and tied the franchise record with seven in a half. ... Portland C
Mason Plumlee (11 points, 11 rebounds) recorded his 12th
double-double of the season. ... After losing five of their first
eight road games, the Thunder have won six of the last eight away
from home. "Because of a new coaching staff, the comfort of (coaches
and players) getting to know each other was important." first-year
coach Billy Donovan said. "You don't want to be the same team you
were in November and December. Our team has gotten better, and
that's helped."
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