Portland Trail Blazers forward Nassir Little had a breakout game against the Houston Rockets on Friday, and apparently, Damian Lillard had a huge part in that.

Lillard knows what Little is capable of, and so he made sure to remind the third-year two-way player just that. Besides, it appeared Little was holding back a bit early in the game.

“I cussed his ass out in the first half when he tried to throw a lob when I threw it to him and it ended up being a turnover,” Lillard said, per Blazers reporter Casey Holdahl. “I’m like ‘What are you doing? You’re not a lob thrower, I’ve never seem you throw a lob. Dude is under the basket, you running full speed, dunk on him, don’t do that shit no more.’ So I got on him and he was like ‘I got you.'”

For those not in the know, Damian Lillard was pertaining to a second quarter play in which he passed the ball to a streaking Little. The Blazers were leading by 14 at the time with only 30 seconds left, and so Dame was expecting the 21-year-old to finish it by attacking the rim.

However, instead of bringing it down himself, Nassir Little lobbed it Blazers teammate Larry Nance Jr., who was waiting on the right side of the paint. Unfortunately, Nance wasn't able to convert and the Rockets got the rebound.

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After Lillard's rather NSFW reminder, however, Little learned his lesson. And so when Lillard presented him with another chance to finish at the rim in the third quarter, he delivered one of the best dunks of the season: a huge poster on Rockets rookie Alperen Sengun.

It was truly the highlight of the night, and a massive cherry on top of Little's big game for the Blazers. He finished with 13 points and a team-high 14 rebounds, as well as two assists, two steals and a block.

Dame certainly knows how to push his teammates forward, and Little has finally taken that huge leap that should push Chauncey Billups to play him even more.