The Portland Trail Blazers and star point guard Damian Lillard stunned the OKC Thunder on Tuesday night, putting an end to their season in dramatic fashion thanks to a 37-foot three-point bomb from Lillard as time expired.
Portland had scratched and clawed the final few minutes to tie it up heading down the stretch and Lillard took care of the rest with one of the most memorable buzzer-beaters in recent memory. However, when Thunder forward Paul George was asked about the shot following the game, George said it wasn’t the best of looks but admitted that obviously doesn’t matter now. Following from NBC Sports Northwest.
Paul George on the game winner: “That’s a bad shot.” #RipCity #ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/PElNdBSAHr
— NBC Sports Northwest (@NBCSNorthwest) April 24, 2019
From George’s perspective and almost anyone else’s, that final heave can certainly be considered a bad shot. Lillard didn’t even attempt to take the ball to the rim and was being blanketed by one of the league’s premier defenders in Paul George. However like PG said, at the end of the day none of that matters since Lillard came through with perhaps the biggest shot of his career when it mattered most.
Lillard was also asked about the game-winner after the game and had a much different response. The Weber State product explained that though it may have seemed like a bad idea to pull up from that distance, this was a shot Lillard had been working on just recently with his trainer.
“Pound dribble. Side step. Raise up.”@Dame_Lillard was comfortable pulling up from deep FTW. #NBAPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/ttNZJgIYZi
— NBA (@NBA) April 24, 2019
Certainly a shot and finish for the ages, the bitter taste in the mouth of the Thunder and their fans will be hard to get rid of. The Thunder had every opportunity to give the series new life heading back to OKC for a Game 6 but couldn’t close the deal, and Lillard’s 50 points were simply too much to overcome in the end. The Blazers will take on the winner of the Spurs vs. Nuggets series next round which currently stands at 3-2 in favor of Denver.
