The Portland Trail Blazers officially clinched the eighth seed in the West on Thursday following a tightly contested victory over the Brooklyn Nets. As expected, Damian Lillard carried the Blazers to victory with yet another amazing performance.

After Caris LeVert's game-winning attempt bounced off the rim, Lillard just put his hands on his knees and looked down. What was he thinking in that moment?

“Shit,” Damian Lillard said, via Jason Quick of The Athletic. “I was tired.”

Lillard finished the contest with 42 points on 13-of-22 shooting, along with three rebounds, 12 assists, two steals, and just one turnover in 44 minutes of play. He also casually drained eight triples for good measure. What's amazing is that this wasn't even his best performance over the past couple of weeks. The 30-year-old has completely dominated the seeding games for the Blazers, and it is clear that he has given it everything he has.

Lillard's performance was made even more impressive by the fact that the Nets were throwing the kitchen sink at him in an attempt to stop him. The Athletic's Joe Vardon documented Lillard's response to their defensive efforts:

“Motherfuckers be double teaming me before I even get to halfcourt,” Lillard said to his coaches, referring to the 36-footer he splashed from near midcourt with 10:29 left and the Blazers down seven.

At this point, it's no longer a surprise that he's exhausted.

This begs the question: How much gas does he have left in the tank? Lillard is no spring chicken, and the Blazers have such a long way to go from this point. They face a tough test against the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday in a play-in game, for which Portland holds a twice-to-beat advantage. Should Lillard and company emerge as the victors in that series, they get to face a rested Los Angeles Lakers side in the first round of the playoffs.

Life will only get tougher from here on out, and Lillard will need to dig deep for the sake of his team.