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With his late-season buzzer beaters to take out the Houston Rockets in the 2014 playoffs and the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2019 playoffs, Damian Lillard has not only established himself as one of the greatest shooters in the world. clutch of the league, but set a pretty high standard for what constitutes an incredible shot.
His Saturday night effort certainly qualified, as he hit one of the craziest game winners you’ve ever seen to elevate the Portland Trail Blazers to the Chicago Bulls, 123-122. Let’s see how it happened.
With just over 11 seconds left, Bulls point guard Coby White knocked down two free throws to put the Bulls up five and seemingly seal the game. Only Lillard came out of the timeout and immediately hit a 3 from nearly 40 feet to make it a two-point game.
On the finish that followed, the Blazers trapped Zach LaVine in the corner and managed to force a jump ball before he could call the timeout. The Blazers went on to win the ball, and after a brief run for the ball, Lillard walked away with and hit a fadeaway for the win.
Unreal. This look from Garrett Temple tells you everything you need to know about how the Bulls felt after that one.
Lillard finished with 44 points, a season-high, five rebounds and nine assists in the win. It was his third ringtone drummer, which is the most in franchise history, according to ESPN Stats and Info. It is also his 35th game with at least 40 points. No other player in Blazers history has even half of it.
The win ended a two-game losing streak for the Blazers and improved their record this season to 10-8. Things have been tough in Portland with CJ McCollum, Jusuf Nurkic and Zach Collins all with long-term injuries, but so far they’ve hung on. As it stands, they’re only half a game away from fourth in this odd season, and Lillard has shown once again that as long as he’s here they still have a chance.
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