Last night at United Center, the final seconds of the Trail Blazers-Bulls matchup was certified Dame Time.
Down by 5 with 11.5 seconds left on the clock, the Trail Blazers looked to their biggest star. Off of an inbound from Robert Covington, Blazers PG Damian Lillard hit a deep-3 to narrow the Bulls lead to 2 with a few precious seconds remaining.
On the following play, the Blazers pinned Bulls’ Zac LaVine in the deep corner to force a jump ball before a timeout could be called. Portland then got the tip. After seconds of scrambling, the ball found its way into Lillard’s hands, who hit the miraculous fade-away three for the win as the buzzer declared the end of the game.
This win came with a hint of reprisal. Earlier in January, when the teams last met, the Bulls pulled off a massive come-back win to topple the Blazers.
Revenge is sweet.
Lillard’s’ final six points of the game contributed to his stellar 44-point night, making it his 35th 40-point+ game in a Blazers jersey, over double the amount of any player in Portland’s history. The star PG also made 8 of 17 from behind the arch and notched nine assists and five rebounds. His efforts, combined with that of C Kanter and SG Trent Jr., who combined for another 40 points, extended the Bulls’ losing streak to three and capped off the Blazers’ road trip with a much-needed win.
Pushing through the extensive absence of CJ McCollum, Jusuf Nurkic, and Zac Collins, Portland continues to prove their toughness, desperately holding onto their playoff position in the West. Looking ahead, Lillard and the Blazers will head back home to face some stiff competition from the East, including the Milwaukee Bucks and the Philadelphia 76ers.
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