The Sacramento Kings knew he was getting the ball and knew he was taking the shot, but they were still helpless to stop him when they needed to most. The fourth quarter is called “Lillard Time” for a reason, after all. Watch Damian Lillard live up to that billing by splitting the pick-and-roll and flying for a big slam in crunch-time of the Portland Trail Blazers’ 98-94 win over the Kings.
The stage: Portland up one with approximately 40 seconds remaining. Now for the wholly unsurprising result:
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Dirty.
Note how many dribbles Lillard took after slithering his way through the trap of Jason Thompson and Darren Collison. That’s right – zero. Talk about explosiveness.
Dame finished with 22 points, six rebounds, and five assists to lead Portland to victory despite the loss of LaMarcus Aldridge. The All-Star big man injured his thumb early in the second quarter and left for good to have tests performed on the injury, the results of which are still unknown.
DeMarcus Cousins paced the Kings with 22 points, 19 rebounds, and four blocks, but fouled out on a questionable call in the closing minutes. Considering Lillard’s penchant for clutch theatrics, though, it’s easy to doubt that even the presence of a force like Boogie could have changed the outcome of this one.
What do you think?
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