Portland Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard has been on fire these last few games. Lillard has dropped over 114 points in his previous three games. Lillard went off for 40 against the third-place Denver Nuggets and followed that performance up in back-to-back games versus the Minnesota Timberwolves, on whom he posted 36 and 38 points.
Lillard’s last game versus the Timberwolves was a special one not only because of his dominant play but because he tied his own Blazers franchise record for three-pointers made in a game and found out that he was just 106 points away from becoming the Trail Blazers’ new all-time leading scorer.
“I think it’s one of those situations where you start seeing the ball go in, I think you’ve just got to let it ride, and that’s what I was doing,” Lillard said postgame via ESPN, “Each opportunity where I felt like it was a window where I could get a three off, I was shooting it. It didn’t matter the distance; if I felt like I could get it off pretty clean, then I was going to get it off.”
When Lillard was asked a follow-up question about how he felt about closing in on being the all-time franchise record surpassing Clyde Drexler, Lillard replied;
“I think everybody here knows this; it’s documented that I’ve always said I want to be the best, to be the guy where when they say ‘Who was the best to come through here?’ I want people to look and say, ‘It was Dame. Obviously, scoring isn’t everything, but when you start to get up in these types of numbers, that’s a major thing. And the fact that it’s Clyde Drexler, anybody who knows the history of the NBA is going to respect and honor that. So, being a part of one organization for this long and being able to sustain this level of success and to catch a record like that, it means a lot to be in that position. And once it does happen, I think it’ll be just a major step in even furthering the direction of being what I want to be as far as being a Trail Blazer. It’s a major accomplishment.”
Just because Lillard has yet to win a ring should not diminish what he has done or meant to the city of Portland. Because each time Lillard takes the court, he plays with the heart of a true champion.
Shout out to Damian Lillard, a humble beast, and genuine people’s champ!
