Prior to Tuesday’s game versus the Indiana Pacers, Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers were on a slump—losing five games in a row and falling down in the competitive Western Conference. There are a ton of reasons why this happened to the Trail Blazers. Aside from their injury woes, they’ve struggled on the defensive end all season and can’t seem to close out games that matter most. 

But versus the depleted Pacers, it was finally a different sight for Lillard and company. They went on to win by 21 points and snapped the Pacers' 31-year winning streak at home. When asked for his assessment after the game, Lillard confidently talked about their team defense and their constant communication (via NBC Sports’ Dwight Jaynes). 

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“We rearranged the matchups and I was like, ‘I got him’ and my intention was just to get into the ball. Just sell out on that end of the floor. So, I told CJ (McCollum), you take Caris (LeVert). I’m going to take Malcolm (Brogdon). We're going to set the tone of his trip off right. And we’re going to do it defensively, because if we do that against the shorthanded teams like tonight, we're going to run away with this game.”

Damian Lillard and the Trail Blazers’ strategy worked, helping them finally get a win after what seemed like forever. Thankfully, they are still in the postseason picture as they currently sit in seventh place in the tight Western Conference just behind the Dallas Mavericks.

But when the going gets tough, you know what time it is.