<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Lakers-Damian-Lillard-Kobe-Bryant.jpg"></figure><h1>Blazers star Damian Lillard reveals championship advice Lakers great Kobe Bryant gave him</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-01-26T06:43:19-08:00">January 26th, 6:43am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-01-26T06:43:59-08:00">January 26th, 6:43am</time><address><a>Jeremy Chua</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Like most players in the league, Portland Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard wanted to pick the brain of one of the game’s best players in Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant back then. The two players immediately formed a bond when Lillard first came to the league back in 2012.</p><p>As his career progressed in the league, the former Weber State star was able to spend more time around Bryant. In his fourth season, he then posed a question to the Lakers legend: “What does it take to be a champion?”</p><p>Bryant was generous enough to give his advice to Lillard and the Blazers guard took it to heart. Knowing the importance of preparing for his opponents eventually became a key cog in his development as a player to this day.</p><blockquote>“A lot of it had to do with film,” Lillard told <a href="https://www.si.com/nba/2021/01/26/kobe-bryant-is-everywhere-daily-cover">Sports Illustrated</a>. “He watched a lot of film on the best defenders and how they defended him. He watched full games. And he would always say, You will be surprised how often people do the same things. … And if you can learn people’s patterns, and you can learn their tendencies and habits, by watching them game after game, you’ll see that they do the same things, and you can take advantage of it. And you can manipulate that. Then I started to do that. That really helped me.”</blockquote><p>Ever since Lillard arrived in the NBA in 2012, the Blazers managed to turn things around and consistently made the playoffs in seven-straight seasons under head coach Terry Stotts. Their deepest postseason run was back in the 2018-19 season where they reached the Western Conference Finals against the Golden State Warriors.</p><p>However, they were eventually eliminated after suffering a 4-0 series sweep at the hands of the reigning champions at the time. Despite coming up short year-in and year-out, Bryant’s advice didn’t go to waste as Lillard and his team still emerged as a constant threat and had their own iconic moments that certainly made a mark in the league.</p><p>Damian Lillard, who <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/blazers-news-daddy-dame-damian-lillard-fiancee-welcome-newborn-twins-growing-family/">just became a father</a> to a set of twins, is hoping that he can achieve greater heights with the Blazers and finally bring the team closer to its second championship in franchise history in the years to come.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Blazers star Damian Lillard reveals championship advice Lakers great Kobe Bryant gave him

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/dame-2.jpg"></figure><h1>Blazers star Damian Lillard moves up to 16th on all-time 3-points list</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-01-24T20:56:01-08:00">January 24th, 8:56pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-01-24T20:56:01-08:00">January 24th, 8:56pm</time><address><a>Virgil Villanueva</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard has <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1353555326247776261" rel="noopener">moved up the ladder</a> in the all-time 3-pointers made list, passing Chauncey Billups to take the 16th spot.</p><p>Lillard achieved the feat on Sunday against the New York Knicks. Next on the list is JJ Redick of the New Orleans Pelicans, though Lillard may have a difficult time eclipsing the Duke standout as he’s still piling up the 3-pointers.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Congrats to <a href="https://twitter.com/Dame_Lillard?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">@Dame_Lillard</a> of the <a href="https://twitter.com/trailblazers?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">@trailblazers</a> for moving up to 16th on the all-time THREES MADE list! <a href="https://t.co/GUyHmPWd3I" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/GUyHmPWd3I</a></p><p>— NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1353555326247776261?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">January 25, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>The past several days have been good for Damian Lillard, as he <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/blazers-news-damian-lillard-passes-kobe-bryant-on-all-time-3-points-list/" rel="noopener">surpassed</a> the great Kobe Bryant on  the same list last week. He unlocked the milestone in a losing effort to the San Antonio Spurs. However, since the Blazers star guard  is a big Bryant fan, surpassing the Mamba in any type of list is definitely in his goals.</p><p>Wherever he ends up on the list, Lillard will still be considered among the greatest 3-point assassins to ever set foot in the NBA. Along with Stephen Curry, Lillard has been considered as one of those players who changed how the game is played. After all, he made the logo shot even more popular–a testament to his long-range prowess.</p><p>For what it’s worth, Lillard has a bit of a long way to go to compete with Curry in the category, as the Golden State Warriors star is often dubbed as the greatest shooter of all time. Steph is now locked in on the all-time record of Ray Allen after recently surpassing Reggie Miller for second on the 3-pointers list.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Blazers star Damian Lillard moves up to 16th on all-time 3-points list

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Blazers-Damian-Lillard.jpg"></figure><h1>Blazers’ Damian Lillard dropping Adidas shoe to celebrate ending series vs. Thunder</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-01-24T10:47:00-08:00">January 24th, 10:47am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-01-24T10:47:47-08:00">January 24th, 10:47am</time><address><a>Skyler Carlin</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Players with shoe deals sometimes create shoes that have meaning behind them and Damian Lillard’s upcoming shoe could bring back bad memories for a certain NBA team. The All-Star point guard of the Portland Trail Blazers is <a href="https://twitter.com/NickDePaula/status/1353400212346163208?s=20">planning on releasing an Adidas shoe</a> that celebrates eliminating the Oklahoma City Thunder from the playoffs in 2019.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Ruthless: <a href="https://twitter.com/Dame_Lillard?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">@Dame_Lillard</a> has a new Adidas shoe dropping in OKC colors to celebrate his series-ending shot &amp; 50 point game. 👋🏼😎 <a href="https://t.co/gDiMIkK2lT" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/gDiMIkK2lT</a></p><p>— Nick DePaula (@NickDePaula) <a href="https://twitter.com/NickDePaula/status/1353400212346163208?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">January 24, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>Back in the 2018-2019 season, Lillard and the Blazers took on the Thunder in the first round of the playoffs. That Thunder team was led by Paul George and Russell Westbrook, who are both no longer with the team anymore.</p><p>With a 3-1 lead in the series, Portland went into Game 5 with the plan of ending the series and advancing to the Western Conference Semifinals. Lillard would lead the way with 50 points, seven rebounds, and six assists while making 10 of his 18 3-point tries.</p><p>The numbers he recorded in Game 5 are embedded into the tongue of Lillard’s new shoe, reminding everyone of his stat line from that game. At the same time, he created the shoe with orange and blue as the main colors, which of course are the colors that represent the Thunder.</p><p>Since that playoff series, Lillard and George have gotten into <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/paul-george-vs-damian-lillard-a-timeline-of-their-feud/">multiple feuds</a> on social media. Both of them have taken shots at the other, with it getting personal at certain moments in recent years.</p><p>It has almost been two years since the Blazers knocked the Thunder out of the playoffs, but Damian Lillard doesn’t want to let anyone forget who made that a reality. Someone may want to ask George how he feels about Lillard’s upcoming shoe release.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Blazers’ Damian Lillard dropping Adidas shoe to celebrate ending series vs. Thunder

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Blazers-news-Damian-Lillard_s-blunt-take-on-Conor-McGregor-after-KO-Thumbnail.jpg"></figure><h1>Blazers star Damian Lillard’s blunt take on Conor McGregor after KO</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-01-23T22:35:31-08:00">January 23rd, 10:35pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-01-23T22:35:31-08:00">January 23rd, 10:35pm</time><address><a>Mike Cruz</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Conor McGregor <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/conor-mcgregor-gets-kod-by-dustin-poirier/" rel="noopener">just took a brutal knockout loss</a> to Dustin Poirier in their lightweight bout in the UFC 257 main even on Saturday. Like many MMA fans across the world, Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard was closely watching the McGregor-Poirier showdown at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.</p><p>As McGregor suffered the first knockout defeat of his MMA career, Lillard <a href="https://twitter.com/Dame_Lillard/status/1353216739157266432" rel="noopener">questioned</a> whether The Notorious’ heart is still in the sport.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Idk if Conor heart is still in it.</p><p>— Damian Lillard (@Dame_Lillard) <a href="https://twitter.com/Dame_Lillard/status/1353216739157266432?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">January 24, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>Lillard did maintain that he’s a huge fan of McGregor. However, the five-time Blazers All-Star noticed something different from the Southpaw fighter, not just in the fight but even prior to the match.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Im a Conor fan… just didn’t look himself to me. Not just because he lost… the whole build up <a href="https://t.co/JsV5Ge7Zqz" target="_blank">https://t.co/JsV5Ge7Zqz</a></p><p>— Damian Lillard (@Dame_Lillard) <a href="https://twitter.com/Dame_Lillard/status/1353218087282069504?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">January 24, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>It’s safe to say that many, like Damian Lillard, didn’t expect to see the scene of Conor McGregor laying on the canvas on Saturday’s blockbuster. The Irishman certainly didn’t look like the first fighter ever to simultaneously hold championships in two weight classes. Nevertheless, while people like Lillard may question if McGregor’s heart is still in the sport, it doesn’t seem like this is the last fans will see of the 32-year old mixed martial artist.</p><p>In the post-fight interview, McGregor admitted he didn’t feel as comfortable in the Octagon on Saturday. His last fight came over a year ago, a TKO win over Donald Cerrone, and he has fought in the UFC just three times since 2018. Nonetheless, McGregor added that he will get back into the drawing board and look to regain his form. Perhaps UFC fans like the Blazers guard  will see more of The Notorious this 2021.</p><p>As for Lillard, Portland fans won’t need to worry about their franchise superstar’s heart, especially for their beloved Blazers. The 30-year old has repeatedly gone on record about his loyalty for Rip City and that likely wouldn’t change anytime soon.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Blazers star Damian Lillard’s blunt take on Conor McGregor after KO

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Daddy-Dame_-Damian-Lillard-and-fiance%CC%81e-welcome-newborn-twins-to-growing-family.jpg"></figure><h1>‘Daddy Dame’ Damian Lillard and fiancée welcome newborn twins to Blazers star’s growing family</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-01-23T10:49:39-08:00">January 23rd, 10:49am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-01-23T10:49:39-08:00">January 23rd, 10:49am</time><address><a>Aayush Patel</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Portland Trail Blazers star point guard Damian Lillard and his fiancée Kay’La Hanson just welcomed twins to the Lillard family this past Thursday.</p><p>They had a daughter, named Kali Emma Lee Lillard, and a son, Kalii Laheem Lillard. Lillard posted a family picture on his <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CKXnldyAbBF/">Instagram</a> of his fiancée and his newborn twins. In his caption, he wrote, “Just call me Daddy Dame from now on…”, as his twins now join Damian Lillard Jr. in the five-time NBA All-Star’s growing family.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="instagram-media"><div style="padding: 16px;"><p> </p><div style="display: flex;"><div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div><div style="display: flex;"><div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div><div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div></div></div><div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div><div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div><div style="padding-top: 8px;"><div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"></div><div style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 14px;"><div><div></div><div></div><div></div></div><div style="margin-left: 8px;"><div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 20px; width: 20px;"></div><div></div></div><div style="margin-left: auto;"><div></div><div></div><div></div></div></div><div style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 24px;"><div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"></div><div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; height: 14px; width: 144px;"></div></div><p> </p><p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CKXnldyAbBF/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" rel="noopener" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A post shared by Damian Lillard (@damianlillard)</a></p></div></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>In an interview that Damian Lillard had with <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/platform/amp/nba/2019/3/3/18247921/damian-lillard-interview-portland-trail-blazers-fatherhood-life-ball?__twitter_impression=true">SB Nation’s Paul Flannery</a> last March, Lillard reflected on what it meant to him to be a father. This is what Dame said:</p><blockquote>“It’s been great, man. The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/blazers-news-damian-lillard-says-child-being-born-best-thing-ever-happen-to-him/">best thing that ever happened</a> and I’ve had a lot of great things happen in my life. But that’s the best thing that ever happened….You always worry about every little thing. At first, I was just carefree with everything in my life. Now I’m like, I don’t want him to fall over. I don’t want him to hurt himself. I don’t want him to choke on something. You’re just so concerned for them and it hurts you. It’s so alarming, man. I feel it for the people around me, but it’s deeper for my son. Only a parent would understand.”</blockquote><p>With the addition of twins to the family, Lillard’s perspective that he shared almost a year ago will only strengthen. The Blazers are doing well this season, as they are tied with the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference with an 8-6 record. But “Daddy Dame” has other things to worry about right now.</p><p>A few days off due to postponed games surrounding the Memphis Grizzlies franchise allowed Lillard to be with his fiancée and growing family before suiting up on Sunday for a matchup with the New York Knicks.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

‘Daddy Dame’ Damian Lillard and fiancée welcome newborn twins to Blazers star’s growing family

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/cj-3.jpg"></figure><h1>Damian Lillard’s encouraging health update on Blazers teammate CJ McCollum</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-01-18T17:16:44-08:00">January 18th, 5:16pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-01-18T17:16:44-08:00">January 18th, 5:16pm</time><address><a>Paolo Songco</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Portland Trail Blazers were missing a couple of key guys on Monday, as they were blown out by the San Antonio Spurs, 125-104. CJ McCollum was forced to sit this one out due to a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/blazers-news-cj-mccollum-timetable-revealed-after-suffering-foot-injury/" rel="noopener">foot sprain</a>, but if you ask teammate Damian Lillard, it appears that there is nothing to worry about with regards to McCollum’s injury.</p><p>After the game, Lillard was asked about his backcourt partner’s status moving forward, to which the All-Star point guard responded with some cautious optimism:</p><blockquote>“I’m expecting a few games. I don’t know, maybe the rest of this homestand,” said Lillard, via <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/damian-lillard-not-worried-cj-000350773.html">Dylan Mickanen of Yahoo Sports</a>. “I’m really not sure. But I don’t think it’s something that will be too extended.”</blockquote><p>McCollum suffered the injury in Portland’s win over the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday. A post-game MRI revealed the left foot sprain, which is actually a welcome development considering how bad the injury looked initially. The 29-year-old is expected to be re-evaluated in a weeks’ time, during which a timetable on his return could be provided.</p><p>As Lillard implied in his statement above, however, McCollum should be back for the Blazers sooner rather than later. Lillard even provided some insight as to his teammate’s current disposition:</p><blockquote>“A lot of times when guys get hurt I try to look at their mood,” Dame explained. “The type of mood that they in and the body language and the energy that they have when they’re around the team and he’s been himself.“If he was worried then I would be worried, but he doesn’t seem worried.”</blockquote><p>While that’s good to hear, the same cannot be said for Jusuf Nurkic. Portland’s prized big man recently suffered yet another <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/blazers-news-jusuf-nurkic-timeline-return-from-wrist-injury-revealed/">major injury</a> and is now expected to miss at least eight weeks after fracturing his right wrist.</p><p>In the meantime, Lillard will need to do much of the heavy lifting for the Blazers, and we all know that he is more than capable of doing so.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Damian Lillard’s encouraging health update on Blazers teammate CJ McCollum

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/dame-1.jpg"></figure><h1>Blazers superstar Damian Lillard passes Kobe Bryant on all-time 3-points list</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-01-18T16:28:11-08:00">January 18th, 4:28pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-01-18T16:28:11-08:00">January 18th, 4:28pm</time><address><a>Paolo Songco</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Damian Lillard made a bit of history on Monday night, as the Portland Trail Blazers fell to the San Antonio Spurs, 125-104. The All-Star point guard drained another three triples on the evening, en route to passing the late Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant in the NBA’s all-time three-points list.</p><p>This via <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1351290211075035136">NBA</a> on Twitter:</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Congrats to <a href="https://twitter.com/Dame_Lillard?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">@Dame_Lillard</a> of the <a href="https://twitter.com/trailblazers?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">@trailblazers</a> for moving up to 17th on the all-time THREES MADE list! <a href="https://t.co/LUjCiysJlp" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/LUjCiysJlp</a></p><p>— NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1351290211075035136?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">January 18, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>Lillard just overtook an all-time great in Kobe Bryant, and we’re sure that this meant a little something extra for Lillard, who himself is a huge Black Mamba fan. The Blazers superstar is now just two triples away from climbing another spot on the list, during which he will surpass another legend in Chauncey Billups.</p><p>Unfortunately for Lillard, his historic evening came in a losing effort for the Blazers, as they were blown out by the Spurs. Lillard finished with a game-high 35 points (on 10-of-23 shooting, 3-of-10 from distance, and 12-of-12 from the charity stripe), to go along with three boards, six assists, a steal, a block, and five turnovers in 36 minutes of action.</p><p>Lillard did his best to carry a short-handed Blazers side who were missing both Jusuf Nurkic and CJ McCollum due to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/blazers-news-jusuf-nurkic-timeline-return-from-wrist-injury-revealed/" rel="noopener">respective</a> <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/blazers-news-cj-mccollum-timetable-revealed-after-suffering-foot-injury/" rel="noopener">injuries</a>, but in the end, his effort fell short against a determined San Antonio side.</p><p>The Blazers have now lost two of their last three games, as they prepare for a matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday. Both Nurkic and McCollum will still be sidelined for that one so we fully expect another huge night from Lillard.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Blazers superstar Damian Lillard passes Kobe Bryant on all-time 3-points list

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Blazers-Damian-Lillard-Spurs-Gregg-Popovich.jpg"></figure><h1>Blazers star Damian Lillard accidentally dishes out assist to Spurs coach Gregg Popovich</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-01-18T13:58:17-08:00">January 18th, 1:58pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-01-18T13:59:55-08:00">January 18th, 1:59pm</time><address><a>Marty Fenn</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Portland Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard was hoping to find Rodney Hood on the wing during the team’s MLK Day matchup with the San Antonio Spurs.</p><p>Instead, Lillard hit Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich right in the shooting pocket.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Dame throws Pop a dime 😅 <a href="https://t.co/qXmBeI0Spt" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/qXmBeI0Spt</a></p><p>— Bleacher Report NBA (@BR_NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/BR_NBA/status/1351278470232469504?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">January 18, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>Lillard and Hood both protested the ball was tipped and redirected. But the referees awarded the Spurs the ball, meaning Dame essentially found Pop in a triple-threat position.</p><p>Avoiding turnovers has typically been a strong suit of Lillard’s game, considering his usage. He had a 40-point game with zero turnovers in a Jan. 13 win over the Sacramento Kings and is averaging under three turnovers per contest on over 36 minutes per game.</p><p>But it would not be a surprise to see a spike in Lillard’s turnover numbers. The Blazers <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/blazers-news-cj-mccollum-timetable-revealed-after-suffering-foot-injury/">will be without star shooting guard CJ McCollum for at least a week</a>, who suffered a foot injury just days after Jusuf Nurkic sustained a fractured wrist. Lillard will have to bring the offense on a consistent basis.</p><p>Of course, Dame has plenty of experience shouldering the offensive burden.</p><p>The 30-year-old <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/nba/2020/8/14/21368773/damian-lillard-nba-bubble-star-portland-trail-blazers">dazzled with his prolific scoring outbursts during the NBA restart</a>, almost single-handedly willing the Blazers to the playoffs. He showed he could score in just about any way possible, including firing long threes from the logo.</p><p>Lillard was averaging 27.6 points per game entering Monday’s showdown with the Spurs, though his efficiency was down slightly from last season. The Trail Blazers will hope Dame can stay on point as they navigate injury issues.</p><p>Ideally, that means finding teammates for open looks rather than opposing head coaches, though the latter certainly provided for good humor on Monday afternoon.</p><p> </p><p> </p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Blazers star Damian Lillard accidentally dishes out assist to Spurs coach Gregg Popovich

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Jusuf-Nurkic-Damian-Lillard.jpg"></figure><h1>Damian Lillard sums up Jusuf Nurkic’s injury in 6-word reaction</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-01-14T22:38:49-08:00">January 14th, 10:38pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-01-14T22:38:49-08:00">January 14th, 10:38pm</time><address><a>Immanuel Canicosa</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Portland Trail Blazers’ four-game winning streak came to an end on Thursday night after a 111-87 loss to the Indiana Pacers. But aside from absorbing their fifth loss of the season, the Blazers could also miss big man Jusuf Nurkic for some time after he <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/30715048/portland-trail-blazers-jusuf-nurkic-exits-right-wrist-fracture-vs-indiana-pacers">fractured his right wrist</a> during the third quarter.</p><p>The injury appeared to have occurred when the 26-year-old Nurkic swiped at the ball and fell to the floor afterward. He was later seen entering the locker room and did not return to the game, finishing with five points, eight rebounds, and two assists in 21 minutes.</p><p>After the game, point guard Damian Lillard, who led the Blazers with 22 points in the loss, lamented the possible injury to their starting center and summed up this latest setback.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"It's always something man. Every year." — <a href="https://twitter.com/Dame_Lillard?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">@Dame_Lillard</a></p><p>— Casey Holdahl (@CHold) <a href="https://twitter.com/CHold/status/1349956626325729281?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">January 15, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/blazers-news-jusuf-nurkic-says-damian-lillard-is-the-best-thing-that-happened-to-me-in-basketball/">Lillard is aware of how Nurkic worked his way to return</a> from multiple injuries to be able to play at a high level. The Bosnian Beast played just eight regular season games last season after going down with a broken tibia and fibula in March 2019. But Nurkic made a quick recovery and suited up for the Blazers in the NBA Bubble. He was even a vital cog in their late playoff push and first round series against the Los Angeles Lakers.</p><p>Before their game against the Pacers, Jusuf Nurkic was averaging 10.3 points on 50.5% field goal shooting, 7.6 rebounds, and 2.8 assists.</p><p>The Blazers will look to bounce back from the loss without their ace big man when they face the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Damian Lillard sums up Jusuf Nurkic’s injury in 6-word reaction

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Blazers-news-Damian-Lillard-calls-out-local-reporter-for-hot-take-about-best-NBA-backcourts-Thumbnail.jpg"></figure><h1>Blazers star Damian Lillard calls out local reporter for hot take about best NBA backcourts</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-01-14T09:52:17-08:00">January 14th, 9:52am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-01-14T09:52:17-08:00">January 14th, 9:52am</time><address><a>Immanuel Canicosa</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Portland Trail Blazers have won four straight games and climbed to a 7-4 record after a 132-126 win over the Sacramento Kings. The Trail Blazers’ backcourt of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum starred in their win over the Kings, with Lillard scoring 40 points and dishing out 13 assists, becoming the first player in NBA history to do so without turning the ball over, while McCollum added a near triple-double of 28 points, seven rebounds, and 10 assists.</p><p>Portland’s backcourt is truly making a strong case for <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/cj-mccollum-trade-for-james-harden-blazers-should-pass-on-this-grass/">being the best in the league</a>, so in a postgame interview, Lillard made sure to remind a local reporter about his past tweets about his take on the league’s best backcourt.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Dame kept the receipts 😂 <a href="https://twitter.com/notthefakeSVP?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">@notthefakeSVP</a> <a href="https://t.co/TJW5Lgvr2h" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/TJW5Lgvr2h</a></p><p>— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) <a href="https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/1349753013758517250?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">January 14, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>Once he was interviewed, Lillard was asked by Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian about what their 20-point comeback against Sacramento said about their team, per <a href="https://www.nbcsports.com/northwest/trail-blazers/damian-lillard-calls-out-local-reporter-one-awful-hot-take-about-nba">NBC Sports</a>. But after answering the question and saying that the win spoke volumes about the team’s character, the five-time All-Star called out the reporter about his previous tweets about his thoughts on the best backcourt in the NBA.</p><blockquote>“I also saw your tweets when you was saying that there was a backcourt better than me and CJ, too…You said it was the Wizards’ backcourt,” Lillard said, referring to Fentress’ tweets suggesting it was Russell Westbrook and Bradley Beal of the Wizards who had the league’s best guard tandem.</blockquote><p>Lillard and McCollum are certainly having strong seasons, and have put the Blazers among the top teams in the Western Conference. But aside from picking up a win that revealed the team’s character, Lillard also reminded reporters that he’s keeping receipts regarding their hot takes, especially those concerning him and his backcourt partner.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Blazers star Damian Lillard calls out local reporter for hot take about best NBA backcourts

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Damian-Lillard-Derrick-Jones-Jr.-connect-for-on-point-halfcourt-alley-oop.jpg"><figcaption>CP</figcaption></figure><h1>VIDEO: Blazers’ Damian Lillard, Derrick Jones Jr. connect for on-point halfcourt alley-oop</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-01-13T20:49:12-08:00">January 13th, 8:49pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-01-13T20:49:12-08:00">January 13th, 8:49pm</time><address><a>Dijo Songco</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Airplane mode activated. Derrick Jones, Jr. was cleared for take-off on Wednesday night, as the Portland Trail Blazers <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/scores/nba/ef84de7d-3a03-4738-9716-b1739429d825/portland-trail-blazers-sacramento-kings-01-14-2021" rel="noopener">visited</a> the Sacramento Kings. The reigning Slam Dunk champion literally had enough time to stare down the rim after catching the ball off a half-court lob from Damian Lillard before flushing down the rock.</p><p>The slam is so nice you’ll have to see it thrice (via <a href="https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1349568076426010625">Bleacher Report</a>):</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Dame oops it to DJJ from half court 😳 <a href="https://t.co/xJuexx6KdW" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/xJuexx6KdW</a></p><p>— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) <a href="https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1349568076426010625?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">January 14, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>Everyone knows how dangerous Damian Lillard is from the logo, but having a high-flying weapon like DJJ lurking from the baseline definitely adds an interesting dynamic for the Blazers’ transition game.</p><p>Derrick Jones Jr. followed that highlight with another insane put-back slam from a CJ McCollum triple to help the Blazers cut the Kings’ opening half deficit to just three entering half time. The 23-year-old simply has insane bounce and is one of the most exciting athletes in the NBA today.</p><p>In his first year with the Blazers, Jones has been propelled to the starting line-up to add length and versatility. In his first 10 games prior to Wednesday’s game, the Pennsylvania-native has been a key contributor for Portland, especially on defense. Though his numbers haven’t been off-the-charts, his presence on defense has been something the Blazers have truly benefited from. Jones has tallied 1.3 steals and 0.7 blocks per game for Rip City–plus insane highlights every now and then.</p><p>There won’t be an All-Star Weekend this season, but thankfully, Jones provides fans with Slam Dunk Contest-worthy highlights every time he steps on the court.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

VIDEO: Blazers’ Damian Lillard, Derrick Jones Jr. connect for on-point halfcourt alley-oop

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/dame.jpg"><figcaption>CP</figcaption></figure><h1>Damian Lillard’s take on Caris LeVert heading to Pacers in James Harden, Victor Oladipo trade</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-01-13T15:01:33-08:00">January 13th, 3:01pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-01-13T15:01:33-08:00">January 13th, 3:01pm</time><address><a>Christopher Denson</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>While the Brooklyn Nets were able to pull off a blockbuster deal for former MVP James Harden on Wednesday, they had to give up some key pieces such as Caris LeVert in order to get the deal done. Though the trade doesn’t impact his team’s status, Portland Trail Blazers star guard Damian Lillard <a href="https://twitter.com/Dame_Lillard/status/1349480843056607232" rel="noopener">offered up his thoughts</a> on LeVert heading to the Indiana Pacers in an <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-news-rockets-get-victor-oladipo-blockbuster-james-harden-trade/" rel="noopener">undercard deal</a> in exchange for Victor Oladipo.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">I think he gone take off now <a href="https://t.co/kqWiBZcAKA" target="_blank">https://t.co/kqWiBZcAKA</a></p><p>— Damian Lillard (@Dame_Lillard) <a href="https://twitter.com/Dame_Lillard/status/1349480843056607232?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">January 13, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>Caris LeVert was already well on his way to becoming a formidable two-way player in Brooklyn despite the arrival of Irving and Durant. If anything, his production was hindered after reasonably having to take a backseat to the two stars, so like Damian Lillard said, the move to the Pacers could be beneficial to him,.</p><p>LeVert was able to come into the 2020-21 season and thrive in his bench role, but it was obvious that he could do more with additional floor time. That time came after the unfortunate, season-ending injury to Spencer Dinwiddie in which he partially tore his ACL.</p><p>With Oladipo out of the picture, LeVert will likely get majority control of the backcourt alongside Malcolm Brogdon with the Pacers. The 26-year old scoring talent averaged 18.5 points, 4.3 rebounds and 6.0 assists for the Nets through his first 12 games of the season. He started in four of those contests, primarily due to the absence of Irving.</p><p>LeVert has shown that he’s more than capable of carrying an offense, which is what he’ll be assigned to doing with the Pacers. He averaged 18.7 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4.4 assists last season in the absence of Durant and Irving after he was sidelined due to a shoulder injury.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Damian Lillard’s take on Caris LeVert heading to Pacers in James Harden, Victor Oladipo trade

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/lakers-news-lebron-james-tried-to-pull-a-damian-lillard-with-logo-three-to-ice-the-game.jpg"><figcaption>CP</figcaption></figure><h1>VIDEO: Lakers star LeBron James fails horribly with Damian Lillard-like logo shot in crucial moment</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-01-08T22:46:13-08:00">January 8th, 10:46pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-01-08T22:46:13-08:00">January 8th, 10:46pm</time><address><a>Kriel Ibarrola</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>For a quick second, Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James thought he could pull off a Damian Lillard-type of long-range to finish the Chicago Bulls at Staples Center on Friday. With the Purple and Gold up by one, 116-115, with 23 seconds left in regulation, The King tried to put away the pesky visitors once and for all with a deep 3-pointer.</p><p>With still eight seconds left in the shot clock, LeBron used Wesley Matthews’ screen to get free. But instead of making a play to the cup, James somehow got impatient and put up for a risky attempt just a few steps away from half-court. His shot fell short, giving the Bulls another chance to steal the game.</p><p>Here’s LeBron’s <a href="https://twitter.com/TheHoopCentral/status/1347776919417208832" rel="noopener">questionable</a> and uncharacteristically poor decision that nearly cost them the game.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">LeBron really tried a logo three to ice the game. 😂<a href="https://t.co/Vd4zMkVmwy" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/Vd4zMkVmwy</a></p><p>— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheHoopCentral/status/1347776919417208832?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">January 9, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>Luckily for the Lakers, they still escaped with a narrow <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/scores/nba/00e0e24e-8716-4388-a0eb-58f74ab3a81b/chicago-bulls-los-angeles-lakers-01-09-2021" rel="noopener">117-115 victory</a> despite their best player’s lapse in judgment. Most coaches would crucify their players for taking a shot that deep with that much time on the shot clock. Then again, he is LeBron James and he can practically do whatever he wants in Frank Vogel’s offense.</p><p>Plus, James was probably still feeling his new “Logo LeBron” nickname after hitting a half-court shot just a few games back. With Anthony Davis sitting the game one out, James led the charge with 28 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. He shot 11-of-21 from the field and missed all five of his 3-point attempts including that Hail Mary.</p><p>LeBron and the Lakers improved to 7-3 in the season, while the Bulls dropped to 4-6.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

VIDEO: Lakers star LeBron James fails horribly with Damian Lillard-like logo shot in crucial moment

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Blazers-news-Damian-Lillard_s-troubling-admission-after-blowing-20-point-lead-vs.jpg"></figure><h1>Blazers star Damian Lillard’s troubling admission after blowing 20-point lead vs. Bulls</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-01-06T09:26:09-08:00">January 6th, 9:26am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-01-06T09:26:09-08:00">January 6th, 9:26am</time><address><a>Marty Fenn</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Portland Trail Blazers had Tuesday’s game against the Chicago Bulls well in hand, until they didn’t.</p><p>Portland raced out to a 20-point lead early, but the Bulls stormed back into the contest and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/bulls-news-zach-lavine-delivers-cold-blooded-three-to-ice-damian-lillard-blazers/" rel="noopener">earned a marquee victory</a> despite a poor shooting night from Zach LaVine and early foul trouble for Wendell Carter Jr. It was the first time this season a team had a 20-point lead in a game and lost.</p><p>Blazers head coach Terry Stotts said after the game he was concerned his team’s defensive activity plummeted when the shots stopped dropping in the second half. Damian Lillard agreed with that notion:</p><blockquote>“Tonight we came out and we basically flipped what we usually do — we started the game really well, really sharp, and part of that is when we are making shots, it’s easier to be up and active on the defensive end of the floor,” Lillard said, via <a href="https://theathletic.com/2305619/2021/01/06/blazers-bulls-score-result-recap/?source=emp_shared_article">Jason Quick of The Athletic</a>. “In the second half, when the shots stopped falling, I think (Stotts) is right, that our energy did drop some, our activity level dropped and we started to get outworked.”</blockquote><p>Portland scored a whopping 39 points in the first quarter, with Lillard pouring in 13 points in the frame. But the Blazers scored just 15 points in the second quarter, and the game continued to slip away in the second half.</p><p>The Blazers gave up 66 points in the second half. Chicago made nine triples and got to the line for 12 free throws after attempting just six shots from the charity stripe in the first half. The Bulls were simply more aggressive in controlling the game, and it apparently stemmed from the missed shots.</p><p>Lillard and the Blazers were expected to be among the top contenders in the Western Conference after a strong offseason. But it has been a slow start to the year, and Portland will have to improve upon its defensive rating (<a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/POR/2021.html" rel="noopener">28th in the NBA</a>) if it hopes to right the ship.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Blazers star Damian Lillard’s troubling admission after blowing 20-point lead vs. Bulls

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Draymond-Green-Damian-Lillard-Blazers-Warriors.jpg"></figure><h1>RUMOR: Draymond Green to Blazers? Damian Lillard has been ‘campaigning’ for Warriors star</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-01-06T06:25:38-08:00">January 6th, 6:25am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-01-06T06:25:38-08:00">January 6th, 6:25am</time><address><a>Jeremy Chua</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Portland Trail Blazers have been consistently making the playoffs year-in and year-out in recent seasons. However, they always fail to get past the Western Conference Finals and always look a piece or two away from forming a true championship-caliber roster.</p><p>Reports have emerged that Damian Lillard has been urging the Blazers front office to trade for Golden State Warriors veteran Draymond Green to bolster their roster over the past few years, per <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2925688-amick-damian-lillard-has-been-campaigning-blazers-for-draymond-green-trade">Bleacher Report</a>.</p><p><a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2925688-amick-damian-lillard-has-been-campaigning-blazers-for-draymond-green-trade">Via Sam Amick on The Athletic NBA Show Podcast:</a></p><blockquote>“If we were handicapping Draymond trade destinations if the Warriors decided to blow it up…that’s the one. Damian and his group have for the last couple years been campaigning for that,” he said.</blockquote><p>As seen in previous seasons, Draymond Green won’t necessarily record eye-popping numbers but he will give his team an all-around performance with intangibles galore on and off the court. At the same time, the Blazers haven’t had a guy truly willing to do the dirty work as both Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum handle the load on offense. Draymond has always been the yin to Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson’s yang, and he could possibly be the same for the Blazers.</p><p>After Carmelo Anthony was relegated to a bench role this season, newcomer Robert Covington has been slotting in the starting small forward position for the Blazers. He has done an applaudable job in being a 3-and-D player but having a player like Draymond Green could add a whole new defensive wrinkle while also serving as an offensive playmaker for the team’s weapons.</p><p>Blazers head coach Terry Stotts and his men are off to another slow start with a 3-4 record thus far, similar to how they began their campaign a season ago. Pulling the trigger on a Draymond Green trade in the early stages of the season could potentially do the trick that will get them over the hump. At the very least, it’s worth the shot.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

RUMOR: Draymond Green to Blazers? Damian Lillard has been ‘campaigning’ for Warriors star

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Coby-White-Bulls.jpg"></figure><h1>Coby White reveals he wanted to be Damian Lillard growing up</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-01-05T22:50:23-08:00">January 5th, 10:50pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-01-05T22:50:23-08:00">January 5th, 10:50pm</time><address><a>Virgil Villanueva</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Like most young NBA players today, they patterned their game after the ones they saw on TV. For Chicago Bulls guard Coby White, it was Portland Trail Blazers star guard Damian Lillard whom he idolized growing up.</p><p>Per Eric Woodyard, White was particularly drawn to Lillard’s scoring ability — a pretty rare thing for point guards to have. Since high school, White was in awe of Lillard’s capacity to score in bunches — through lay-ups, perimeter shots, and 3-pointers from way downtown.</p><p>Now that he’s in the NBA, White sees Lillard <a href="https://twitter.com/E_Woodyard/status/1346559333262364685">as nothing but a rival</a>. The fanboy days are over.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Bulls' Coby White looks forward to the challenge of Dame Lillard. He was a fan growing up and admired his ability to score as a PG. "That's who I was trying to be in high school," he said. Now, it's no fandom. </p><p>"Playing against really high level guys bring the best out of you."</p><p>— Eric Woodyard (@E_Woodyard) <a href="https://twitter.com/E_Woodyard/status/1346559333262364685?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">January 5, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>In their first regular-season duel, White matched up with Lillard and showed up. In 39 minutes, White had 21 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists. He shot 8-of-19 from the field, 2-of-7 from deep, and 3-of-4 from the free-throw line. Lillard had a better output with 24 points, five rebounds, and nine assists. But in the end, it was the Bulls <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/bulls-news-zach-lavine-delivers-cold-blooded-three-to-ice-damian-lillard-blazers/">who won 111-108</a>. Safe to say that White got the best out of his former idol.</p><p>From the looks of it, White has the makings of a high-scoring point guard like Lillard. So far in the young season, he’s averaging 15.7 points per game. A rise in his average could be expected since there are many more games left to play.</p><p>Last year, his first season in the NBA, White had several 25-30-point outputs which pretty much reveal that he has that scoring mentality. And let’s not forget how he drained seven 3-pointers in just one quarter — which is now the Bulls rookie record. This is just two short of the most 3-pointers in the quarter held by Klay Thompson.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Coby White reveals he wanted to be Damian Lillard growing up

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Zach-LaVine-Damian-Lillard-Bulls.jpg"></figure><h1>VIDEO: Zach LaVine delivers cold-blooded three to ice Damian Lillard, Blazers</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-01-05T22:16:51-08:00">January 5th, 10:16pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-01-05T22:16:51-08:00">January 5th, 10:16pm</time><address><a>Dijo Songco</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Zach LaVine of the Chicago Bulls came up clutch against Damian Lillard and the rest of the Portland Trail Blazers. The 25-year old sharpshooter pulled up from 25-feet to ice the game against the Blazers on Tuesday to help propel the Bulls to a huge 111-108 away win.</p><p>Check out LaVine’s <a href="https://twitter.com/chicagobulls/status/1346696101932351488?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1346696101932351488%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fclutchpoints.com%2Fwp-admin%2Fpost.php%3Fpost%3D964439action%3Dedit">beautiful step-back trey here</a>:</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">BIG TIME PLAYERS MAKE BIG TIME PLAYS<a href="https://twitter.com/NBCSChicago?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">@NBCSChicago</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/ZachLaVine?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">@ZachLaVine</a> <a href="https://t.co/5WpjJWYGAl" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/5WpjJWYGAl</a></p><p>— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) <a href="https://twitter.com/chicagobulls/status/1346696101932351488?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">January 6, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>LaVine was actually shooting just 2-9 from deep before that last play. But, shooters shoot and that’s exactly what the former Slam Dunk champion did. He came off a Thaddeus Young pick and Derrick Jones, Jr. going over the screen didn’t matter as LaVine stepped back which gave him more than enough room to nail the clutch bucket. LaVine ended with 18 points and nine assists while Coby White and Otto Porter, Jr. led the way for the Bulls with 21 and 19 respectively.</p><p>Just like LaVine, Lillard also had a tough shooting night on Tuesday. Dame shot 6-17 from the field and was just 3-11 from deep to end the evening with 24 points. CJ McCollum came up huge with his own 26 points and nailed 6-14 shots from deep. The fiery backcourt of Portland combined for 50 points but still wasn’t enough to fend off the visiting Bulls.</p><p>LaVine has been leading the way for the Bulls this season with an average of 24.6 points per game coming into Tuesday’s game in Portland. His clutch bucket helped the Bulls open their four-game road trip with a W. The 4-4 Bulls will be heading to California to visit the Sacramento Kings, the Los Angeles Lakers, and the Los Angeles Clippers and they’re hoping that LaVine and the rest of the starters <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/bulls-news-chicago-fans-will-want-to-hear-why-zach-lavine-didnt-go-50/">continue their hot-shooting performances</a>.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

VIDEO: Zach LaVine delivers cold-blooded three to ice Damian Lillard, Blazers

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Stephen-Curry-Damian-Lillard-Warriors.jpg"></figure><h1>Damian Lillard pays his respects to Stephen Curry after 62-point night</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-01-03T22:36:10-08:00">January 3rd, 10:36pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-01-03T22:36:10-08:00">January 3rd, 10:36pm</time><address><a>Dave Monaco</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>We just witnessed vintage Stephen Curry on Sunday night. If there was ever a doubt about who the best point guard in the league is, Stephen Curry just silenced those doubts. The Golden State Warriors improve to 3-3 on the season with a 137-122 win over the Portland Trail Blazers thanks to a 62-point effort from Stephen Curry.</p><p>Curry shot 18-31 from the field, shooting 50% from deep. To go along with Curry’s 8 threes, he also poured in 18 points from the free throw line, going 18/19. Steph was absolutely unstoppable for the Warriors in this one.</p><p>Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum were terrific for the Blazers combining for 60 points in the loss. Most nights that would be enough to get the win, but when Stephen Curry scores his career high, a loss is almost guaranteed.</p><p>After the game, Dame <a href="https://twitter.com/TheHoopCentral/status/1345945264595451905?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1345945264595451905%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fclutchpoints.com%2Fwp-admin%2Fpost.php%3Fpost%3D962167action%3Dedit">made sure to pay his respects</a> to Curry.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Nothing but respect between Steph and Dame. ✊✊<a href="https://t.co/6kumV7zTqo" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/6kumV7zTqo</a></p><p>— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheHoopCentral/status/1345945264595451905?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">January 4, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>Curry was having a a solid start to his season prior to Sunday night’s game, averaging 26.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 6.6 assists per game in five starts for the Warriors. His percentages have not been very good, shooting only 32% from deep, so it’s nice to see a vintage Curry performance so early in the season.</p><p>Is it too early to say ‘MVP’? Yes, definitely. Six games is not enough time to make a case for MVP, but it sure puts him right at the top of the short list. But one thing’s for certain – Stephen Curry is still the heart and soul of the Golden State Warriors.</p><p>The Warriors are going to need more performances like this from Curry if they want to be a playoff team in the Western Conference.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Damian Lillard pays his respects to Stephen Curry after 62-point night

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Warriors_star_Draymond_Green_thinks_Damian_Lillard_is__special_.jpg"><figcaption>CP</figcaption></figure><h1>Blazers’ Damian Lillard, Warriors’ Draymond Green get testy as stars draw double technicals</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-01-03T19:15:05-08:00">January 3rd, 7:15pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-01-03T19:15:05-08:00">January 3rd, 7:15pm</time><address><a>Virgil Villanueva</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>In his second game of the 2020-21 NBA season, Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green didn’t waste time getting into the heads of his opponents. His first victim: Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard.</p><p>In the first quarter of the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/scores/nba/7640cd70-c3e6-4271-85ef-58af2bb9bef0/portland-trail-blazers-golden-state-warriors-01-04-2021" rel="noopener">Warriors-Blazers game</a> on Sunday, Green and Lillard hurled words at each other, causing the officials to slap the two with technical fouls. However, <a href="https://twitter.com/HoHighlights/status/1345913147065053184" rel="noopener">as seen in the clip</a>, this did not stop them from continuing to jaw one another.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Dame and Draymond exchanged some words. 👀🍿 <a href="https://t.co/HwagnrU9UU" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/HwagnrU9UU</a></p><p>— House of Highlights (@HoHighlights) <a href="https://twitter.com/HoHighlights/status/1345913147065053184?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">January 4, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>Trash talking almost always occurs in a game. Nonetheless, several fans were somehow thrilled to see Draymond Green back to his old ways. After all, this is what the Warriors forward is known for. His contribution won’t necessarily appear on the stat sheet. As the vocal leader of the Warriors, his job is to get in the ear of his teammates, as well as his opponents.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Dray's back <a href="https://t.co/cbWDptltHZ" target="_blank">https://t.co/cbWDptltHZ</a></p><p>— Jamar Hinds🇯🇲🇨🇦 #BreonnaTaylor (@jamarbh) <a href="https://twitter.com/jamarbh/status/1345913658153594880?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">January 4, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>Several fans defended Damian Lillard as well. One believes it’s not a good idea to hurl words at Lillard who could easily use it as fuel. Dame is one of the most potent scorers in the league, and he does engage in trash talk only because he can back it up.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">He bet not get Dame started 😅😂 <a href="https://t.co/wmhO0wmx8f" target="_blank">https://t.co/wmhO0wmx8f</a></p><p>— Eric⚜ (@Eric__Simmons) <a href="https://twitter.com/Eric__Simmons/status/1345913867982008321?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">January 4, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>All in all, it’s definitely a treat to see Green back. Warriors fans should expect more explosive games and perhaps more technical fouls with him around.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Blazers’ Damian Lillard, Warriors’ Draymond Green get testy as stars draw double technicals

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Warriors-news-Steve-Kerr-reacts-to-Damian-Lillard_s-comments-on-Stephen-Curry-looking-mortal-Thumbnail.jpg"><figcaption>ClutchPoints</figcaption></figure><h1>Warriors’ Steve Kerr reacts to Damian Lillard’s comments on Stephen Curry looking mortal</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-01-02T17:52:43-08:00">January 2nd, 5:52pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-01-02T17:53:14-08:00">January 2nd, 5:53pm</time><address><a>Michael Corvo</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Damian Lillard of the Blazers knows the Golden State Warriors, Steve Kerr, and Stephen Curry have struggled to find a groove at the start of the 2020-21 season.</p><p>Specifically, one glaring issue with the Dubs’ play so far has been their inability to create clean looks for Stephen Curry. Without Klay Thompson spotting up and running around screens, Andrew Wiggins, Kelly Oubre Jr. and the rest of the Golden State supporting cast has largely failed to open up the kitchen enough to provide Chef Curry proper space to cook.</p><p>Damian Lillard <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/warriors-news-damian-lillard-on-why-stephen-curry-has-looked-mortal-so-far-this-season/">commented</a> on Stephen Curry’s ongoing struggles after his Portland Trail Blazers easily handled the Warriors, 123-98, on Friday,</p><blockquote>“I think right now, with the injuries that the Warriors have been dealing with and Steph playing with a younger team right now, he’s seeing that it’s tough to get those quality looks right now,” Lillard said on <a href="https://fadeawayworld.net/2021/01/02/damian-lillard-on-steph-currys-struggles-hes-seeing-that-its-tough-to-get-those-quality-looks-right-now-its-different-than-what-its-looked-like-the-last-4-5-years/" rel="noopener">“Warriors Pregame Live.”</a></blockquote><p>Stephen Curry’s head coach, Steve Kerr, didn’t disagree with the Blazers guard’s assessment.</p><blockquote>“Damian Lillard was right to say that,” Kerr said, <a href="https://twitter.com/Con_Chron/status/1345476854921064448">via Connor Letourneau of the San Francisco Chronicle</a>. They did a good job taking him (Stephen Curry) out. Now, we need to do a better job of putting him in better positions.”</blockquote><p>Stephen Curry is averaging 26.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 6.6 assists through five games, and is shooting 42 percent from the field and 32.1 percent from beyond the arc. Both rates would mark career lows (excluding 2019-20, when he missed all but five games due to a broken wrist).</p><p>The Warriors (2-3) and Stephen Curry will get another shot at Lillard and the Blazers (3-2) on Sunday at the Chase Center.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Damian Lillard news

Damian
Lillard news