Blazers All-Star guard breaks franchise record with 10 three-pointers en route to 50 points
Wednesday 24 April 2019 14:36, UK
Damian Lillard waved the Oklahoma City Thunder off the court after his game-winning buzzer-beater earned the Portland Trail Blazers a 4-1 series win.
Lillard drained a 37ft three-pointer at the end of regulation to seal a 118-115 Game 5 win to confirm Portland's place in the Western Conference semi-finals and end the Thunder's season.
The game-winning basket took Lillard to 50 points for the game. He connected on a franchise record 10 threes and made 17 of his 33 shots.
After making his series-clinching trey, Lillard made a point of waving goodbye to the beaten Thunder players as they trudged off the Moda Center court, as he enjoyed having the last laugh over the opponents who had mocked him during Game 3, the only victory Oklahoma City could muster in the series.
Speaking after the game, Lillard said: "I mean the game, the series was over. You know that was it. I was just waving goodbye to them.
"I think after game three you know they, Dennis Schroder was out there pointing to his wrist. They were out there doing all these celebrations and doing all this stuff and we kept our composure.
"After one win that's what they decided to do, we were just like 'OK'. What we want to do is win four games and then when we win those four games it's not going to be nothing to talk about. So that's what that was."
The Thunder were punished for missed shots and turnovers as they surrendered a 10-point lead in the final five minutes of regulation.
Asked for his reaction after the game, Oklahoma City forward Paul George said: "Very disappointed. Simple as that. We let this one slip away, but it is what it is."
Questioned about Lillard's game-winning performance, George gave the Blazers star credit.
"He just made big shots," he said. "Tip my hat off to the shots he made. You know tough ones. Contested. Thirty-five plus feet out. Tough shots but it was his night. He felt it and he knocked them down."
Of Lillard's towering game-winner, a resigned George said: "That's a bad shot. I don't care what anybody says it's a bad shot. But hey, he made it. That story will be told that it was a bad shot. You live with that."
