About Last Night: Lillard Eliminates Thunder With 37 Feet

by



[ad_1]

Damian Lillard would not lose the Portland Trail Blazers.

Taking matters into his own hands, Lillard scored 50 career playoff points, including a 37-footer to eliminate the Oklahoma City thunder of the playoffs in five games with a 118-115 win.

Surprisingly, it was not the first time Lillard had called a series. He did the same thing with the Houston Rockets in 2014.

Lillard had a game for a long time, even before the shot was heard around the NBA. He played the 24 minutes of the first half, keeping the Blazers alone by scoring 34 points – the highest number of all season's players in the playoffs since Steve Nash in 2005.

It was a brand performance for Lillard, with a drummer who will go down in history. Let's give him Horry Scale treatment, okay?

A reminder about The Horry Scale: It breaks down a winning buzzer-beater (GWBB) into difficulty categories, game situation (was the team tied or late at the time?), Significance (eliminatory evening or garden party in November?) and the party. We then give him an overall score on a scale of 1 to 5, Robert Horrys, named in honor of the patron saint of last-second prayers.

* * *

DIFFICULTY: Lillard is no stranger to big shots, but it was a game less than 37 feet to win a playoff series. At the time of Lady Time, Lillard has the means to make easy the most difficult shots.

SITUATION OF THE GAME: The Blazers erased a 15-point deficit in the fourth quarter and equalized CJ McCollum's 22-foot ball 113-113 while 57 seconds remained in regulation. Paul George and Lillard exchanged their buckets before Russell Westbrook missed a breakaway, which was brought back by Al-Farouq Aminu 17.1 seconds from the end. Lillard cashed in and calmly dribbled inside the half-court near the Blazers logo. He looked down on Paul George, then got up and hit the winner.

PARTY: Lillard then had 50 points for the game and he said goodbye to Thunderbench in a deafening roar from the crowd in his hometown. He was quickly assaulted by his teammates as the confetti rained down. When the thunder left the room, Lillard circled the courtyard, in front of moving supporters, while the crowd chanted "MVP! MVP!"

QUALITY: It's not better than that. Five Horrys.

Weekend Liquidation in Toronto, Philly

To say that the Toronto Raptors and the Philadelphia 76ers were doing business Tuesday night would be an understatement.

The two teams started quickly and became victorious in the playoffs in their fifth game, before facing the semifinal of the Eastern Conference.

Kyle Lowry set the pace for the Raptors, scoring the first nine points of Toronto. Meanwhile, the Orlando Magic missed 10 of their first 11 shots and went from 0 to 7 points in the first. The Raptors took a lead of 24-7 and never looked back in their 115-96 victory.

Kawhi Leonard had another ruthlessly effective game, scoring 27 points on a shot of 8 to 11, including 5 out of 5 to 3 points. He took advantage of the "MVP, MVP" encouragement with a time of 8:05 to play and 30 for Toronto.

Kawhi Leonard averaged 27.8 points and 6.6 rebounds in the series.

The Sixers faced even less resistance from the Brooklyn Nets, who have outperformed since their victory in the opening match.

Joel Embiid shook a bad left knee again and had six points and five rebounds in the first two minutes. The Sixers scored the first 14 points of the game and led 30-6 two minutes into the first quarter.

"They did what they wanted even before we could be part of the table," said Angelo Russell, guardian of the All-Star of the Nets.

Embiid finished with 23 points and 13 rebounds in just 20 minutes and no starter played more than 27 minutes in the match. 122-100 let off steam.

If a game sums up this game, it's Embiid's basic jam on Rondae Hollis-Jefferson.

It's been 18 years since Philadelphia and Tornoto faced off in the playoffs, when the 76ers led by Allen Iverson defeated the Raptors led by Vince Carter in seven games.

Jokic, the Nuggets strangle the Spurs

The Denver Nuggets are on the verge of winning their first playoff victory since 2009 after the San Antonio Spurs dismantling 108-90 in the pivot match 5.

Once again, Nikola Jokic finished with 16 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists before staying out of the fourth quarter.

For the series, Jokic averages 19.6 points, 11.6 rebounds and 9.0 assists.

"What Nikola Jokic did in his playoff debut did not happen very often in the history of this game," said Nuggets coach Mike Malone. "It can affect the game in many ways … I hope that the audience of the national television observes us and tells us:" This guy, it's a real one. "

[ad_2]

Source link