Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard made sure it was ā€œDame Timeā€ once again on Friday night, when he sized up Los Angeles Lakers All-Star forward Anthony Davis ā€” one of the NBA's top defenders ā€” and buried a 35-foot 3-pointer for a 64-60, third-quarter lead.

ā€œLook at where he makes it from!ā€ exclaims ESPN's Doris Burke. ā€œAnd then he just turns around. No reaction.ā€

Lillard's unlimited range helped the Trailblazers get the better of the Lakers, too, in a critical 106-101 home victory against the hobbling Purple & Gold. He'd finish with a game-high 38 points on 12-for-18 shooting from the floor and 5-for-9 from the arc, adding seven assists and four rebounds.

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It was thoroughly needed, too, as Davis ā€” still bouncing back from a long layoff ā€” erupted for 36 points, 12 rebounds and five assists on 12-for-23 shooting from the floor and 2-for-3 from the arc.

Lillard's fifth 3-pointer of the night came with 3:51 left in regulation, and gave Portland a 97-90 lead.

Over the last five games, the former Weber State star has been on an absolute tear offensively. The Trailblazers are 4-1 in the span, and he's scoring 32.2 points, 9.2 assists and 4.4 rebounds on 56.4% shooting from the floor, 53.8% shooting from the arc and 93.1% shooting from the stripe.

The Blazers (38-29) moved to the No. 6 seed and out of the play-in with the victory, and sit just one game back of the Dallas Mavericks for the No. 5 seed. The Lakers, meanwhile, fell to 37-30 and into the No. 7 slot ā€” which is the top seed of the play-in tournament. Both teams have five games remaining in the 72-game regular season.

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