Dame time turns into lame time for Lillard

ORLANDO (Florida) • A war of words - both on the court and on social media - erupted between Damian Lillard and the Los Angeles Clippers after several of their players mocked him following the Portland Trail Blazers' 122-117 defeat on Saturday.

The five-time All-Star is known as "Dame Time" for his ability to come up clutch in the dying moments of National Basketball Association (NBA) games.

But this time, Lillard could not step up when it counted at Disney World, missing a pair of key free throws that would have put the Blazers up by one with just under 19 seconds left.

With an 89 per cent success rate from the line this season, it seemed like a given he would make the easy baskets.

Instead, the misses demoralised his team, leading to the eventual loss and putting Portland's chances of qualifying for the play-offs - they have reached the post-season for the past six seasons - in serious danger.

The Blazers (32-39), who are ninth in the Western Conference, are now 11/2 games behind the Memphis Grizzlies, who hold the eighth and final berth, with just three regular-season games left.

More critically, the defeat means that the rest of the chasing pack, Phoenix Suns and San Antonio Spurs - 10th and 11th respectively - are only half a game behind them, while the 12th-placed New Orleans Pelicans are a further half game back.

If the eighth-placed team do not finish four games ahead of the team in ninth, those teams must play each other.

Portland were stung by the loss against an under-strength Clippers team (47-22) who chose to rest Finals Most Valuable Player Kawhi Leonard and Patrick Beverley, and were missing Montrezl Harrell for personal reasons.

It was exacerbated by animated taunts on the sidelines from Clippers pair Paul George, who paced his team with 21 points, and Beverley, following Lillard's misses.

The guard later took exception to the verbal jabs, blasting the pair in his post-game interview.

"Asking me about Patrick Beverley who I sent him home before at the end of a game," Lillard said. "Paul George just got sent home by me last year in the play-offs. So they know.

"The reason they reacting like that is because of what they expect from me, which is a sign of respect. It just shows what I've done at a higher clip more times than not.

"If anything, it should just tell you how much it hurt them to go through what I've put them through in those situations previously."

George, however, told reporters it was sour grapes, saying: "Some people can play when talking, some people can't."

The spat continued on an Instagram post by Bleacher Post, with Beverley leaving a comment that Lillard would soon be heading for "(Mexican holiday resort) Cancun in three", while George chimed in, adding, "You getting sent home this year, respect... Dame time running out".

Lillard fired back, telling George to "stop running from the grind" and calling the Clippers "chumps".

While the rest of the Blazers, including C.J. McCollum, who led all scorers with 29 points, refused to get involved, the guard admitted he was "very surprised" his teammate did not drain the free throws, but insisted they win or lose as a team.

"We've got to do a better job of executing and putting them away earlier. Especially, going against most of their second-unit guys - we've got to do a better job."

REUTERS

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