Portland Trail Blazers star guard Damian Lillard captured the attention of the NBA mainstream after his studly performance against Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder last season, burying a gut-carving bomb to win it all in five games before waving goodbye.

The Blazers don't look like a playoff team this season, but that hasn't stopped Lillard from having a career-best season and sending this warning shot to his opponents: he's not going out without “a real fight.”

“It means something to me to just not fold,” Lillard told Jason Quick of The Athletic. “Let’s get ourselves together and find a way and, when the end of the season gets here, say, ‘Once again, we are here (in the playoffs).’”

For example, take Westbrook again, this time a member of the Houston Rockets. He was determined to get revenge on Lillard as his new squad took on the Blazers on Jan. 15, only for Lillard to get the bragging rights once again.

“Every time I play against Russ, I say something back. Same thing with Pat Beverley,” said Lillard. “With both players, I have always backed up anything I need to say with how I’m playing. But they are two players who it’s important to me to let them know that if that’s what you want to do, you’ve met your match. I’m not intimidated, and I don’t really care what you gotta say, I’m gonna say something back. You know, kind of set that tone. Like, ‘All right … so what?’”

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The two players then exchanged a healthy mix of [un]plesantries:

“He was backing me down and being real physical, and I was being physical back, and he swept (his arms) through and I swiped down and fouled him, on purpose. Hard fouled him,” said Lillard.

That competitive spirit was one that Lillard has kept this season, chasing every win and never giving in despite his embattled Blazers struggling.

The Blazers are still waiting on a Jusuf Nurkic return while sitting three games out of the last playoff spot in the West, but Lillard won't stop fighting until they're there again come April.