Damian Lillard, the former superstar with the Portland Blazers, is back in the playoffs with the Milwaukee Bucks. His former team, the Blazers, will miss the playoffs for the third consecutive season. The Blazers hope to rebuild in the coming year and get back to the playoffs.
One of Lillard’s most iconic playoff performances took place five years ago today. On April 23, 2019, Lillard hit a shot to break a 115-115 tie in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The shot, over Thunder forward Paul George, sent Oklahoma City home and propelled the Blazers into the second round of the NBA playoffs.
Lillard scored 50 points that night to go along with seven rebounds and six assists. He shot 17 of 33 from the field and hit 10 of 18 threes. The Blazers defeated the Denver Nuggets 4-3 in the second round before falling 4-0 to the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Finals.
The Blazers have not won a playoff series since defeating the Nuggets. Lillard on Sunday led the Bucks to a victory in Game 1 of their series against the Indiana Pacers by scoring 35 points, all in the first half. Lillard and Bucks host the Pacers in Game 2 at 5:30 p.m., Tuesday night on NBATV.
