Clutch time is Dame time
Lillard delivers late burst as Blazers erase 17-point deficit to beat New Orleans 125-124
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Portland guard Damian Lillard on the way to notching the 12th 50-point game of his career against the Pelicans on Tuesday. He had 20 points in the final quarter.
PHOTO: REUTERS
PORTLAND • At 16, the Portland Trail Blazers are tied with the Philadelphia 76ers and Brooklyn Nets, the two best teams in the Eastern Conference, for the most number of clutch wins this National Basketball Association (NBA) season.
Damian Lillard is the main reason behind that.
The guard made it a league-leading 124 points in total clutch points this season as his two free throws with 1.2 seconds left capped the Blazers' fightback from a 17-point, fourth-quarter deficit to post a dramatic 125-124 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday.
The 50-point game was the 12th of the All-Star's career, tying him with LeBron James for seventh on the all-time list. In 81 clutch minutes this season, Lillard has been deadly efficient, shooting 35 of 58 (60.3 per cent) from the field, 16 of 30 (53.3 per cent) from beyond the arc, and a perfect 36 of 36 from the free-throw line.
On Tuesday, he shot 13 of 20 (65 per cent) from the field, six of 13 (46.2 per cent) from beyond the arc, and was 18 of 18 from the free-throw line here, leading to praise from his peers, including Golden State Warriors' Draymond Green and Lou Williams of the Los Angeles Clippers. On the 30-year-old, Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine, who is second on the clutch points list with 105, tweeted: "Dame is ridiculous."
NBA great Shaquille O'Neal feels it is not too soon to start putting Lillard in the Most Valuable Player conversation. "Dame Dolla is the most feared man with three seconds left in the game," he said on the NBA On TNT TV programme.
Clutch situations refer to the last five minutes of games, when the teams are separated by five points or fewer.
The Blazers, who kept hold of sixth spot in the West with a 23-16 record, were also boosted by the return of C. J. McCollum for his first game in two months. The guard missed the previous 25 games with a fractured left foot and had 10 points in 26 minutes.
Brandon Ingram scored 30 points, and Zion Williamson added 28 points and a career-best eight assists for the Pelicans, who were left stunned at the end.
The hosts trailed by 17 with six minutes remaining but fought back with 20 of Lillard's 50 points coming in the fourth quarter.
"I think with how it happened and the position we were in down the stretch, this will be one I remember," said the player nicknamed "Dame Time".
"I got to my spot and drew a foul and that was game."
Blazers coach Terry Stotts added: "He continues to do things that are remarkable. Fifty points and 10 assists, and game-winners, and all the things that he does. I'm never surprised, but I never take it for granted."
Portland won the first match-up 126-124 in New Orleans on Feb 4 and have a chance to sweep the Pelicans in regular season when they host them again today.
Elsewhere, Finals MVP James has joined Fenway Sports Group (FSG) as a partner, the Boston Globe reported on Tuesday, making him a part-owner of Major League Baseball's Boston Red Sox.
The Los Angeles Lakers star purchased an undisclosed number of shares in FSG, which also approved a US$750 million (S$1 billion) private investment from investment firm RedBird Capital Partners. FSG are also the owners of English Premier League champions Liverpool.
REUTERS