Sunday's game against the Dallas Mavericks turned ugly real quick for Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers. After all, they were on a receiving end of a humiliating 40-point home thrashing as the Mavericks completely outplayed them, 132-92.
A debilitating defeat like this one is simply unacceptable for a competitor of Lillard's caliber, as he expressed his disappointment after the game. The 30-year-old guard admitted feeling irritated by the whole thing and took the blame for his subpar outing.
"Anytime me, CJ and Melo go 0 for 16 from 3, we’re not going to have much of a chance." – Dame on tonight's loss. Says they're "irritated" but understand these games can happen during the regular season.
— Blazer Banter (@blazerbanter) March 22, 2021
Lillard had a rare off-night against the Mavericks, tallying just 19 points on 7-of-16 shooting from the field, along with four assists in 30 minutes. The usually efficient gunslinger missed all of his seven attempts from beyond the arc. The same goes for Trail Blazers veterans CJ McCollum and Carmelo Anthony, who shot a combined 0-of-9 from downtown. McCollum pitched in 13 points, while Melo had a measly six-point outing.
They were simply no match to Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic who brought his A-game, tallying 37 points on a brilliant 8-of-9 shooting from long distance, along with seven rebounds and four assists. Josh Richardson also did not make things easy for Rip City, dropping 21 markers, while four other Mavericks finished in double figures. The loss sent the Trail Blazers to sixth place in the Western Conference, tied with the Denver Nuggets with a 25-17 win-loss slate.
As offensively gifted as the Trail Blazers are, there are indeed nights when the rim seems too small. Damian Lillard, however, is one of the best scorers the NBA has ever seen and he will likely bounce back with a vengeance in their ensuing games.
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