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Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle was raving about Damian Lillard, who almost singlehandedly kept the Portland Trail Blazers in the game before the Mavs were able to escape with a 133-125 win.
Carlisle joked he tried to pass Lillard a note at some point saying “that he’s got my All-Star vote. I guess he didn’t get the note, but he’s got my vote,” according to Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News.
Damian Lillard put up a scorching 47 points only days after hanging a career-high 61 against the Golden State Warriors on Monday, taking it upon his own hands to keep his team afloat. Lillard made 16-of-28 from the floor, including 9-of-15 from deep and a perfect 7-of-7 from the foul line, chipping in six rebounds, and eight assists through 42 minutes.
Doncic was voted as an All-Star starter hours earlier, and it will be up to Carlisle and the rest of the coaches in the NBA to determine what other players are viable candidates to make the All-Star roster. It's almost certain that Lillard is expected to make it given how spectacular he's been playing of late.
Lillard was just shy of cracking a starting spot through the fan vote, but an argument can be made that he's certainly deserving of it, keeping Portland's playoff hopes alive with some incredible performance.
Whether Carlisle was joking about the note or not, it's almost sure that he's voting Lillard in his ballot, considering the respect he has for the star point guard after seeing the sizzling display he put on Thursday night.
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