Damian Lillard hasn't been known to be much of a talker, but the Portland Trail Blazers guard made the loudest statement of this series, dropping a 50-point bomb over the Oklahoma City Thunder, along with the game-winning trey to seal it all in Game 5.
The star point guard drilled a 37-foot side-step jumper over Paul George to bury any chance of a comeback after the Blazers had climbed out of a 15-point hole in the fourth quarter.
After withstanding the Thunder's never-ending trash talk in Game 3 of the series, Lillard responded with a cold-blooded game-winner, saying goodbye to OKC on his own home floor:
“It was a great feeling,” Lillard said, according to Geoffrey C. Arnold of The Oregonian. “When it left my hand, it felt good. I felt good about it.”
Dame waved goodbye to OKC 💀 pic.twitter.com/WrrF3RgQ1j
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 24, 2019
“The series was over. That was it,” Lillard said of his wave gesture after hitting the last shot. “After Game 3, (Thunder guard) Dennis Schroder was out there pointing to his wrist. They was out there doing all these celebrations and doing all this stuff. After one win. We was like, ‘Okay what we want to do is win four games. When we win those four games, there’s not going to be nothing to talk about.”
Actions often speak louder than words, but there was no louder action than burying a game-winner from afar right over the outstretched arm of the Thunder's best defender in Paul George.
Staying true to the motto of the Wild West, these two gunslingers duked it out like old times, mano-a-mano, as Damian Lillard emptied the clip, with one huge bullet left in the chamber — one that finally eliminated the Thunder from playoff contention for a third straight season, still unable to get past the first round.
Follow Us
Subscribe