Damian Lillard had another tremendous showing for the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday, as he led his team to a hard-fought 124-121 victory against the Philadelphia 76ers. Lillard stepped it up for his team yet again in crunch time, and after the win, he explained why he thrives in such situations.

According to Lillard, he cherishes these types of crucial moments in ballgames.

“I enjoy those games mentally because you see people start to break down, have lapses,” the Blazers star said, via Ben Golliver of the Washington Post. “You get to the point where only a few people will push through. I like to take advantage. I know I’m going to be there the whole time.”

Clearly, Damian Lillard isn't just saying this — he completely backs it up with his outstanding performances in crunch time. Sunday night was another exhibition of the same, as the 30-year-old finished the contest with 51 points (on 16-of-28 shooting), three rebounds, seven assists and two steals.

This was an important bounce-back victory for Portland following their 122-117 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday. The eighth-seeded Memphis Grizzlies lost on Sunday to the Toronto Raptors, which allowed the Blazers to close in on the eighth and final playoff spot in the West.

Portland still has two more seeding games remaining, and they are just half a game behind the Grizzlies in the conference. With momentum on their side, it appears that the Blazers have emerged as favorites to squeeze through the play-in tournament and onto the postseason.