The Portland Trail Blazers are advancing into the second round of the Western Conference Playoffs thanks to Damian Lillard's 37-foot buzzer beater in Tuesday night's Game 5 matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Portland's series with the Thunder was filled with several interesting storylines, including a not-so-silent rivalry between Lillard and Russell Westbrook.
At times, Westbrook would mock Lillard and the Blazers after a big play. And in fact, Westbrook even pulled out his “rock the baby” taunt in Game 3 — his best game of the series.
As you might expect, Westbrook's antics made Lillard and his teammates feel a certain way, but they maintained their composure. Ultimately, the Trail Blazers sent OKC home in five games.
Lillard, who scored a franchise-record 50 points in Game 5, spoke with Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports about his matchup with Westbrook:
“I took it personal from the jump, but not in the sense of a one-on-one battle with Russ,” Lillard told Yahoo Sports. “Throughout the series, I never bought into the discussion of what people on the outside were saying about our so-called beef. It was never personal with me. I wasn’t going to come down and try to match him shot for shot. I was trying to win.
“And it’s not hard because it’s OK to embrace the battle. But I wasn’t emotional about it. It’s cool because I know the game is still going to be the game regardless of what he’s saying or doing. My team needs me to keep my cool and lead the right way. Nothing was going to get in the way of that.”
Lillard is a quiet guy most of the time, but he clearly didn't like Westbrook's taunting in this series. No babies were going to be rocked on his clock:
“He was doing that on jump shots,” Lillard said. “That’s not when you’re supposed to rock the baby. You rock the baby after overpowering someone in the post. He had one layup in the post on me. Look it up. I’ll live with his jump shots. He wasn’t rocking no baby on me.
“I’m not even paying attention to it,” Lillard added. “But when I do see it, that’s cool. He does it every game, so it doesn’t bother me. I don’t celebrate in someone’s face and try to disrespect my opponent. But if a team calls a timeout, I’ll go acknowledge the crowd and celebrate with my teammates as I’m going to the bench. I’m not going to say some wild s—. I think with him, he’s pounding his chest and talking s— and that’s what gets him going. That’s the difference between us.”
In the end, Dame and the Blazers got the last word.
Blazers' Damian Lillard on trash talk w/ Thunder & waving after winner: "I was just waving goodbye to them. Dennis Schroder was out there pointing at his wrist. After one win, that's what they wanted to do. When we win four games, there's not going to be anything to talk about." pic.twitter.com/Qt3zhvF2G0
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) April 24, 2019
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