Even the buzzer couldn’t stop Dame Time at the United Center.
Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard went out against the Chicago Bulls for 44 points on Saturday, finishing with one of the wildest buzzer beaters of the season.
With just 6.2 seconds to go and the Blazers 122-120 down, a jump ball ended up in Lillard’s hands after an awkward series of changes. Lillard took the ball, ran a few steps to the right and uncorked an off-balance step-back 3-pointer over Bull’s 7-footer Lauri Markkanen.
It was the kind of shot that only a few players on the planet have a prayer for. Fortunately for the Blazers, Lillard is definitely one of those players. The All-Star point guard had shot these shots throughout the game:
“I had a big challenge, got some space, took a step back and that was a competition,” said Lillard of his competition winner. after the match. “In these situations I usually watch the clock and get really ambitious … often it doesn’t work, but today it just happened to be successful.”
Lillard finished 15-of-26 from the field and 8-of-17 from the depth, while also chipping nine assists and five rebounds.
The fun continued in Blazers dressing room, where Lillard was soaked when he entered the door.
The win improves the Blazers record to 10-8, good for seventh place in the Western Conference.
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