Welcome to the NBA Hangover. We jot down NBA stuff mostly from last night that we want to talk about. Check it out.
Damian Lillard scored his second 60-point game of the season. Yeah. Second.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Sean Meagher/The Oregonian.)
Damian Lillard is doing everything he can to keep the Blazers afloat.
He scored a career-high 61 points in an indelible performance to help the Blazers win in overtime in a Western Conference Finals rematch with the Golden State Warriors. Okay, so these two teams aren’t exactly the ones we saw in May. Still, a win is a win and every single one counts for Portland as they try to make the playoffs.
It is amazing, though, that this is his second 60-point game.
The guy is just an explosive scorer. And one of the most clutch players in the modern era. If anything, why wouldn’t you want a Dame Lillard as your franchise cornerstone? Sure, he’s not the greatest defender but he will carry the team offensively to make up for it.
Other than not making all-star games, he’s not vocal about things not going his way (and I get why; all-star games do show respect from peers and give more money). While a lot of franchise players love to play the “wait and see” game on free agency, Damian has been very adamant about staying in Portland (he says so here in this outstanding Player’s Tribune write-up). He is extremely loyal towards the ones who were there with him from the start. How could you NOT want that as your franchise player?
He didn’t make the playoffs his rookie year but he proved that he was quite something by winning Rookie of the Year. Dame made his first iconic game-winning walkoff shot in the first round against the Rockets in his sophomore year. They were pushed out in the first round in 2015 and the Blazers decided to let the entire starting line-up go (including LaMarcus Aldridge) and build around Lillard. In 2016, the Blazers shocked everyone by making the playoffs and going to the second round. While they had first round exits the next two years, Lillard made his second iconic walkoff shot last spring against the Thunder (which precipitated the break-up of that Thunder team). The Blazers would go on to make their first Western Conference Finals in 19 years before the Warriors took care of them.
Throughout all of that, Lillard never went too high and never went too low. The Blazers aren’t even in the Top 8 right now. But Dame has stayed even-keeled on the outside. And sure, I can’t read minds but this has to be killing him inside. He’s a competitor so, of course, being low on the standings isn’t the ideal thing to be for him.
But the great thing about him is that you know he’ll go down swinging (shooting). Just like he did when he went for 60 against Brooklyn in a loss. Just like he did on Monday night when he got 61 against Golden State. And he will keep coming and will never ask to leave Rip City.
There may or may not be playoff time in Portland this year. But in Portland, it will be Dame Time for a long, long time.
Bullet Passes
So the Oklahoma City Thunder are never out of a game. They came back from 17 down to defeat the Houston Rockets.
The Thunder have had many numerous comebacks this season. They were down 26 against the Bulls. Down 24 against the Grizzlies. The Clippers were ahead by 18. OKC was also down 14 against the Warriors with under 9 minutes left. And the Thunder won all of those games. Ridiculous. It’s the difference between 25-19 and 20-24.
James Harden went 1 for 17 from behind the arc. Gross.
So there was the classic Lakers/Celtics rivalry game on MLK Day. Too bad, that classic rivalry became a one-sided beatdown in Boston’s favor. Man, oh, man.
The Kings had a chance to give the Heat their second home loss but BAM BAM.
(VIDEO CREDIT: NBA BandWagon Fan.)
Sactown would go on to lose in OT.
Norman Powell has scored 20 or more points in 8 of his last 9 games. I STILL don’t see much talk about this outside of Raptors fans. This is seriously quite a development for the defending champions. Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet have shown that they’re top options, yes, but who thought about Powell suddenly becoming consistent?
Memphis had their 7-game win streak snapped by the surging New Orleans Pelicans, who have gone 11-5 since that long 13-game losing skid.
That sets the stage for Zion Williamson‘s debut, which is happening on Wednesday.
Rough battle for the #2 seed. Nuggets, Jazz, and Clippers are all 30-13.
The notoriously anti-three-pointer San Antonio Spurs needed threes to defeat the Suns. Bryn Forbes, in particular, made a career-best 8 shots behind the arc.
Michael Porter, Jr. got an opportunity to play a career-high 30 minutes for this undermanned Nuggets team. He went for 20 points and 14 boards in a win against the Wolves. I know some writers are thinking that fans are getting ahead of Porter but we KNOW how talented he is. I’m personally just saying… watch out.
There is media circulating that Delonte West (mostly known for his stints with the Celtics and Cavaliers) is in trouble. It was known for a long time that West is suffering from bipolar disorder.
Delonte West played in the NBA from 2004-2012.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Garrett W. Ellwood/Getty Images.)
Mental health issues (such as bipolar disorder) can be extremely difficult to deal with and it has such a stigma amongst people. We really hope that Delonte is getting the help that he needs. We’re rooting for you, Delonte West.
The Scoreboard
DET 100 (16-28) @ WAS 106 (14-28)
TOR 122 (29-14) @ ATL 117 (10-34)
PHI 117 (29-16) @ BRK 111 (18-24)
ORL 106 (21-23) @ CHA 83 (15-30)
NY 106 (12-32) @ CLE 86 (12-32)
SAC 113 (15-28) @ MIA 118 (30-13) (OT)
OKC 112 (25-19) @ HOU 107 (26-16)
NO 126 (17-27) @ MEM 116 (20-23)
CHI 98 (16-29) @ MIL 111 (39-6)
LAL 107 (34-9) @ BOS 139 (28-14)
DEN 107 (30-13) @ MIN 100 (15-28)
SA 120 (19-23) @ PHX 118 (18-25)
IND 88 (28-16) @ UTA 118 (30-13)
GS 124 (10-35) @ POR 129 (19-26) (OT)
Watch This Play
It’s always something when somebody dunks on the King. Jayson Tatum did it in the playoffs. And Jaylen Brown did it on Martin Luther King Day:
(VIDEO CREDIT: NBA BandWagon Fan.)
I mean, who didn’t have a dream on dunking on LeBron James?
Rey-Rey is on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass.
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