Damian Lillard was able to have his shining moment in this first-round series, despite the constant trash talking thrown his way throughout five games against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Portland Trail Blazers guard gave them a 50-piece, dolloped with a 37-foot 3-pointer at the end of regulation to bury the Thunder in Game 5 in front of his home crowd at the Moda Center.

But before he squeezed the trigger for the 33rd time that game, Lillard knew well ahead that he'd eventually be the one coming out on top.

Following a Game 4 win and a 3-1 lead, Lillard's barber stopped by to clean him up the night before Game 5. Lillard sat in the barber chair and made one last promise to his longtime friend:

“I’m going to get the last laugh,” he said, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. “I promise you that.”

Prior to that, Lillard had invited a few of his teammates for a late dinner, as they watched the NBA Playoffs. The Blazers guard sat quietly on his sofa, eating fried catfish, red beans and rice, and broccoli.

Until the thought came up:

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“I’m getting rid of these mother——- tomorrow.”

Lillard made good on his promise, surviving an avalanche of runs, including a 15-point fourth-quarter deficit to put them away in the final seconds with a giant 3-point bomb.

There isn't a scoring run, trash talk or any excuse to get the Thunder out from that. They simply lost to a man of his convictions and to a team determined to get out of the first round after being humiliated in their last two playoff appearances.

Lillard knew his moment would come, sooner or later — and it did.