Damian Lillard was the driving force behind a Portland Trail Blazers victory for the second straight game on Sunday. Believe it or not, the Blazers are a much different team when their superstar point guard isn't just available to play, but reaches the All-NBA level of performance that has been his constant for the better part of half a decade.
Lillard followed up a season-high 43 points in Friday's win over the Charlotte Hornets with 32 points, five rebounds and five assists in Portland's hard-fought road triumph over the Memphis Grizzlies. He exploded out of the gate for 17 points on just six field goal attempts in the first quarter, and his fingerprints were all over the Blazers' success offensively when it mattered most late.
Lillard's four-point play, his second of the night, with just over four minutes remaining put Portland up by three. He hit Norman Powell with a cross-court kickout for another go-ahead triple as the game clock read 2:47, then found Powell on the right wing once more for a show-go jumper that extended the Blazers' lead to four with just over 30 seconds left. It wasn't quite Dame Time as Rip City has come to know it, but Lillard's impact loomed largest in the clutch on Sunday regardless.
After the game, though, Lillard couldn't help but harp on the mistake he made in the game's final seconds that gave the Grizzlies a last-gasp chance at victory.
“I had a terrible play at the end, fouling a 3-point shooter up four,” he said. “That was a bad play. That's probably one of my worst plays at the end of a game that I can remember.”
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Down four with just over 15 seconds left, the Grizzlies ran a misdirection play to free Dillon Brooks — the game's high scorer with 37 points — for a quick look from 3 with Lillard switched onto him. Lillard fell behind the play almost immediately, forcing him to frantically reverse course and try for a long-armed contest as Brooks rose to launch:
Lillard disputed the obvious contact, claiming it was initiated by Brooks. Chauncey Billups' challenge, unsurprisingly, proved unsuccessful.
Brooks made all three of his freebies, ensuring Memphis would have another chance to tie the game. But Desmond Bane couldn't connect from deep on the Grizzlies' ensuing possession, and Nassir Little, typically, came out of nowhere for a soaring defensive rebound that sent him to the line at the other end to ice Portland's victory.
No win for the Blazers should be cause for any consternation these days, especially one that came on the road against a team that had won 10 of its last 11 games. Just like it happened to survive Lillard's gaffe, though, Portland left Memphis with a win despite planning to foul Bane before he let fly of that game-tying try from 3-land.
No harm, no foul, right? Not quite to Lillard, especially considering the Blazers endured similar self-inflicted errors while letting the Hornets make Friday's contest competitive late.
“But just like last game, I thought we made it a little harder than it had to be in moments,” Lillard said. “That's a part of growth, and growing in those moments. This group is new. We got a lot of new guys and we gotta get comfortable with each other in certain situations. But we weathered that storm and got it done.”
Ideally, Portland won't be in the position to be forced to overcome late-game mistakes during Tuesday's tilt with the New Orleans Pelicans. But should those trials and tribulations come to pass again, at least the Blazers will know for certain they have the wherewithal to win anyway.
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