Portland Trail Blazers All-Star guard Damian Lillard once again reminded everyone that he's one of the most lethal scorers in clutch situations as he hit a 37-foot game-winner to eliminate the Oklahoma City Thunder from the playoffs.
Lillard's Game 5 heroics helped the Blazers beat the Thunder 118-115 and win the series 4-1.
But OKC did what it could to prevent Lillard from having a good look at the basket. Thunder forward Paul George, a very capable defender, was the one guarding Dame when he hit that buzzer-beating 3-pointer. After the game, George told reporters that he was able to do what he's supposed to do: force the Blazers star to take a tough shot:
“Yeah, that's a bad shot. I don't care what anybody says. That's a bad shot. But, hey, he made it. That story will be told that it was a bad shot and you live with that.”
Paul George on the game winner: "That's a bad shot." #RipCity #ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/PElNdBSAHr
— NBC Sports Northwest (@NBCSNorthwest) April 24, 2019
The Thunder might have defended Lillard the way they wanted to on that final play, but that wasn't the case for the final seven minutes of the game.
OKC led by 15 points with about seven minutes left in the fourth quarter before the Blazers closed the game on a 26-8 run. Russell Westbrook had a chance to put the Thunder up by two in the final seconds, but Portland was able to prevent him from scoring inside the painted area.
The Blazers got the rebound, and Damian Lillard hit the series-clinching 3 a few seconds later.
Portland will face the winner of the Denver Nuggets-San Antonio Spurs series in the semifinals.
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