Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers to overcome obstacles, as he did on Saturday in Chicago, born to a competitive family, with a short career as a youth footballer

Portland Trail Blazers goaltender Damian Lillard believes in miracles. That’s why he never gives up. Some, he says, might sometimes call it too ambitious. Down 10 points with 15 seconds remaining, Lillard will certainly flee if he is withdrawn from a match. For him, nothing is impossible.

So when the Blazers on Saturday night in Chicago followed 122-117 with 11.5 seconds left, Lillard’s mind searched for scenarios that saw him go two threes to win the game.

Why not? There was still time on the clock. Time is opportunity. Opportunity equals a chance to win. A chance to win equals Lillard’s time.

Lillard’s ambitions unfolded perfectly on Saturday. He made two threes in the dying seconds, with the second falling as time passed to give the Blazers a 123-122 victory in Chicago.

Lillard, of course, hit a lot of those punches. So much so that he couldn’t decide where Saturday’s winner would stand on this list. The shot didn’t win a playoff series like his 0.8-second rap against Houston in the 2014 NBA Playoffs, or the knockout blow he dealt Oklahoma City in the 2019 playoffs.

But Lillard said Saturday’s shooting held special significance because in such situations the leading team generally feels good about themselves, while the follow-up team is generally downhearted. It is in these moments that Lillard’s spirit races the most, in search of a path to victory. His mindset is to never give up, which became a part of his soul when he was a little kid in Oakland, Calif., Playing football. Yes, football. Stay tuned.

First, a look into the mind of a man with a plan when all hope seems lost.

Lillard, who scored 44 points with 14 in the fourth quarter, said that in such situations he plays out every scenario that could lead to a win. Very often, its imagined fantastic finish just does not have enough time to be achieved.

“Usually I’m just crazy about the situation when there’s really no chance of that happening,” Lillard said.

Still, whatever the situation, in Lillard’s mind it never hurts to try. On Saturday, with the Blazers (10-8) in under five with 11 seconds left, Lillard said he’s been through some winning scenarios. First, he considered what he would do on the inbounds game.

If the defenders were chasing him, Lillard would run towards the ball, then stop and let the defenders run up against him so he could possibly make a foul and get two free throws. Then the Blazers could get the ball back so he can fake a defender, hit a three while shooting a foul and voila! Victory!

If the Bulls weren’t chasing Lillard on the inbounds game, he figured he would try to raise for a three as soon as he got the ball so the Blazers had enough time to foul up, watch Chicago miss their free throws, then he could strike another blow.

No problem.

In fact, no one chased Lillard, he caught the pass clean, had Bulls goalie Coby White on him, took a dribble and sank a 37-foot shot to bring the score to 122-120 Bulls with 8. , 9 seconds to play.

So far, so good. Then the Blazers had to get the ball back.

The Blazers had to foul, hoping the Bulls didn’t make more than one foul, then Lillard could hit a three to tie or win the game.

It would be the normal course of action for most teams, but the Blazers already had another plan in place.

Lillard said the team have talked about trying to always tie up the man with the ball in such situations to force a jump ball rather than fouling right away.

Chicago came by to keep Zach LaVine in the right corner. He covered the ball expecting a foul, but instead Rodney Hood and Gary Trent Jr. circled LaVine and reached for the ball. Trent got his hands on it and an official called for a jump ball with 6.9 seconds left.

Suddenly the Blazers had a chance to take possession of the ball without Chicago firing foul shots. Lillard couldn’t believe it.

“Once (Gary) went to the jump circle, in my head I was like, ‘It’s going to happen,’ Lillard said. “The ball is going to end up in my hands and I won’t have much time, but it was one of those ambitious moments that never happens.

Lillard’s mind then focused on the next task. Trent said Lillard told him to tip the ball at a certain angle so Lillard could retrieve the ball.

Trent beat LaVine to the ball and knocked him back. The ball went to Blazers forward Robert Covington, however, and after losing control of it he tipped the ball to Lillard.

Lillard dribbled to the right, away from Chicago’s 7-foot forward Lauri Markkanen, stepped back and passed out out of bounds as he released the shot.

The shot left Lillard’s hands about 1.3 seconds from the end and went through the hoop as the buzzer rang and the back panel glowed red.

Lillard’s teammates assaulted him. Center Enes Kanter planted a big kiss on Lillard’s forehead.

“It’s amazing what he can do,” Kanter said.

For Lillard, the shot appeared effortless. Trent said it was because Lillard got to work taking similar shots over and over again, bracing for winning scenarios.

Still, Lillard couldn’t take all the credit. He said the work Trent and Hood did to prepare for his shot by forcing the jump and then winning the jump was just as important.

“For them to have presence of mind in this situation, you just have to do it and then seek the tip and earn the tip against probably the most athletic player in the league,” said Lillard, “these two games were just as important as the winner of the game, because without these games there is no opportunity for that.

Because of the way the final seconds played out, Lillard said Saturday’s heroism would mean a different thing to him.

“It never comes to life,” Lillard said. “But this time it is. But I think because of that it’s going to be special.

So where does this fire come from? Well, funny story, he was born in Lillard on the soccer field thanks to his family who treated the competition almost like it was food.

“We compete to the death,” Lillard said. “You are held to a certain standard in my family. You are going to be built for the low times. You are going to be built to handle the highlights properly. Your skin is going to be tough. You will be ready to stand up and you will be ready to face failure.

This family campaign prompted Lillard to play soccer, a sport he didn’t like very much at all. It didn’t matter. His father had played. His brother played. His cousins ​​played. For them, basketball was their secondary sport. So, they convinced him to play at 8 for his uncle’s team. He wasn’t very good.

“I really didn’t want to play,” Lillard said. “So when I went to training I was wrong and I didn’t want to train. When I got there it was raining in practice and games, and I just didn’t want to be there.

Lillard ended up being a “six-man player”. One of the kids who played the minimum six games and then sat down on the bench. He didn’t care because he just wasn’t a football fan. Lillard retired after a season wearing No.63 as the squad’s shortest player.

His family pressured him for a year and a half to join. They teased him saying that he was afraid to play football because he didn’t want to be touched. Lillard finally gave in at 11 and played just to silence them.

“I came back and played, and I was the defensive player of the year,” said Lillard. “I was everywhere on the pitch. I was so good at football that my family wanted me to really, really get into it and take it seriously.

Lillard refused. He had made his point.

“I quit again,” he says. “Because to me it was like you were challenging me this way, I’m going to answer the call and show you that I’m not afraid. … And I think that’s where it started. … This is the real story.

On Saturday, after Lillard ended a post-game interview, he went to the locker room. There awaited his teammates, who sprayed him with water before he could even enter the door.

Considering all the injuries and the recent loss, the team needed this win, and the way they got it made them even more excited.

“Everyone was happy,” Trent said. “No matter how we got it, we came here to get a W. We have a long road trip, so just try to rack up as many wins as possible with the bodies we have.

As long as the body inside the shirt with the No.0 remains healthy, the Blazers apparently still have a chance of winning any game.

“He really locks in and has the will to win,” Trent said.

Blazers coach Terry Stotts said just having Lillard on his team builds confidence in close games.

“I know what Lady is going to get you,” Stotts said. “He will give his effort. He never leaves. No matter where we are, he always believes that we have a chance to win, and that this attitude, this confidence is contagious.

Trent, drafted in 2018, said he was shocked earlier in his career when Lillard would make winning plays. Now, Trent said, he’s no longer surprised. This is exactly what Lillard does.

“No one is surprised, in a way,” Trent said. “He hits hard. He has done it time and time again.

And that’s why Trent was convinced that Lillard’s shot would be true.

“I knew it was going to come in when he pulled it,” Trent said.

Why?

“Because he’s Damian Lillard,” Trent said. “We all know what he can do when they get to the end of it. That is why.”

– Aaron Fentress | [email protected] | @AaronJFentress(Twitter), @AaronJFentress (Instagram), @AaronFentress (Facebook).

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