Oklahoma City Thunder 115-118 Portland Trail Blazers
Three first-round NBA playoff series came to an end on Tuesday in five games. But only one of them ended on a clutch 37-foot game-winning buzzer beater.
That finish, of course, came courtesy of Damian Lillard as his long-range bomb gave the Portland Trail Blazers a dramatic 118-115 win in Game 5 to close out the Oklahoma City Thunder.
It was an absolutely remarkable performance from Lillard, who ended up with 50 points on 17-of-33 shooting, including a sizzling 10-of-18 from 3-point range. He also added 7 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals.
The Thunder came out of the gate strong as Paul George and Russell Westbrook helped build an early lead. They could have pulled away a bit more, but Lillard wouldn’t allow it as he almost singlehandedly kept the Blazers in the game in the first half.
Lillard played all 24 minutes of the first half, where he scored 34 of his 50 points. Some of the 3-pointers he hit during that stretch were simply unbelievable. And thanks to his nearly superhuman effort, the Blazers actually went into half-time with a 61-60 lead.
The third quarter was closely contested, but the Blazers finally went on a run to build up a nine-point lead with three minutes left. However, the Thunder answered back with a monster run of their own to establish a 15-point of their own at the seven-minute mark.
But Lillard and the Blazers once again stormed back to tie it up at 113-113 with less than a minute to go. Paul George’s jumper nudged the Thunder back ahead. But then Lillard took over as his driving lay-up tied the game again. And when Westbrook couldn’t answer with his own acrobatic shot, it was down to Lillard to win the game. And win it he did.
Lillard patiently dribbled down the clock as George got on his stance to guard the Blazers star. And in what is surely one of the top NBA 2019 highlights of these playoffs, Lillard made a quick move, pulled up and rose to shoot from close to mid-court, which went in as time expired. Pandemonium ensued in Portland as Dame Time made its triumphant return.
Dame bests Russ after series-long beef
One of the big playoff storylines that SBOBET NBA fans were likely locked into — aside from the Sixers-Nets beef — had been the Lillard-Westbrook back-and-forth. The Thunder star had been consistently talking trash and taunting Lillard with the “rock the baby” for most of the series.
Westbrook didn’t have the greatest series, although he did do his best to match Lillard’s incredible Game 5 with a strong triple-double of 29 points, 11 rebounds, and 14 assists. Paul George also erupted with his best game of the series with 36 points on 14-of-20 shooting.
But Lillard eventually got the last laugh in that rivalry with his show-stopping performance to close out the series and send the Thunder home.
Although Westbrook does have an MVP to his name, Lillard has shown over the past few years just what a special player he is. He’s a perennial All-Star and All-NBA selection, not to mention a reliable leader in a time when very few superstars are happy and capable of leading.
There were doubts about Lillard’s status as that elite-level player after Portland’s embarrassing sweep against the New Orleans Pelicans. But thanks to this amazing series where he outdueled Westbrook, he’s well and truly reminded everyone that Dame Time is still very much alive and ticking.
What’s next for Portland?
Next up for the Blazers is a date with either the Denver Nuggets or the San Antonio Spurs in the second round. Regardless of which team comes out of that series, though, the Blazers should like their NBA 2019 odds of moving on to a potential conference final berth.
The Spurs have finally shown their limitations in recent games, while the Nuggets have the talent, but are still inexperienced at this level.
Moreover, Lillard could very easily be the best player in a series against either the Spurs or Nuggets, which will give the Blazers a decent shot to go deeper in the postseason.
But it will be interesting to see whether the separated shoulder Enes Kanter suffered in Game 5 will affect him moving forward. The Blazers are already without starting centre Jusuf Nurkic, who broke his leg late in the regular season.
If Kanter is somehow hampered by his shoulder, the Blazers will have to rely on second-year big man Zach Collins and Meyers Leonard, which isn’t ideal.
●●●
CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE BASKETBALL STORIES & ODDS
Stay updated with everything sports and betting.
Follow us on social Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
