Blazers superstar guard Damian Lillard has been on an absolute tear over the past few games, silencing his critics, and putting the league on notice in doing so.
Lillard saw his team on the brink of elimination, and heard some criticism from “Undisputed” co-host Skip Bayless as a result, and he responded, in the biggest way possible. He’s scored 51 and 61 points in the past two games, putting his team on his back with them in “must-win” mode, in hopes of clinching a playoff berth, despite all the injuries the Blazers dealt with earlier in the season.
He delivered an otherworldly performance in Tuesday’s 134-131 win over the Mavericks, scoring 61 points on 17-of-32 shooting. And as soon as the final seconds ticked off, he demanded some “respect” on his name.
Blazers head coach Terry Stotts sure did exactly that in speaking to reporters after the big win, telling the world about “Dame’s night.”
“We ran a lot of pick-and-rolls, it wasn’t very complicated,” Stotts began. “A lot of it was just him having the will power to take threes, get to the free-throw line, get to the basket. I help where I can, but that was Dame’s night.”
Indeed it was, which will set up for an interesting game against the Nets on Thursday night, with Lillard having played so many minutes — 81 in the past two contests alone — in the bubble.
