Portland Trail Blazers superstar point guard Damian Lillard admits he was impressed by the way Chicago Bulls shooting guard Zach LaVine responded to getting benched by Bulls head coach Jim Boylen.

Back in November against the Miami Heat, LaVine was benched by Boylen in the first quarter. The Bulls' leading scorer told the media after the game that he and Boylen were going to have a talk.

LaVine and Boylen had a talk before their matchup against the Charlotte Hornets to clear the air and the talk apparently worked. LaVine not only broke the Bulls franchise record for most 3s in a game against the Hornets, but he also hit the game-winning shot in epic fashion, capping off his incredible 49-point night.

The way LaVine handled himself is something Lillard took notice of, via Eric Woodyard of ESPN:

“For a player that's as talented and as good as he is, I don't think it's hard once you see the ball go in a few times to get hot,” Lillard said. “I think that's what separated him is being able to have that type of mentality where he could've easily came out and pouted and not shown up for his teammates, but he responded in a kind of way that a player of his level should.”

LaVine didn't make the All-Star team, but he's firmly established himself as one of the best young scorers in the NBA. He's averaging 25.0 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.1 assists on the season for the Bulls while shooting 44.3 percent from the field, 37.6 percent from beyond the arc and 82.5 percent from the free-throw line.

Despite LaVine's scoring prowess, the Bulls are only 19-35 on the season. They are in 10th place in the Eastern Conference standings and still alive in the playoff picture. That's mostly because the back half of the East is pretty terrible.