LAKE GOOD VIEW, Fla. – Once the ball came out of Damian Lillard’s hands, it seemed inevitable that the ball would fall into the basket. But that’s not the case.
The bullet hit the back of the hoop. He sailed over the basket. I don’t care. Portland Trail Blazers star stays optimistic about everything. Then Lillard thought, “I think he’s going in.” Seconds later, that’s the case. So his teammate, Carmelo Anthony, said, “It’s not for us to lose.”
Soon, Anthony’s prediction proved correct. Portland escaped with a 134-131 victory over the Dallas Mavericks, allowing the Trail Blazers (34-3nine) to beat the Memphis Grizzlies (33-3nine) for eighth place in the Western Conference with one game remaining. And much of that result goes back to Lillard. He scored 61 points while firing 17 of 32 field shots, nine of 17 depths and 18 out of 18 from the loose-shot line. He is the only player of the moment in NBA history, along with Wilt Chamberlain, to record 3 60-point games in an unmarried season. And he rated the functionality with a triple 3-foot that he knew would sink into the basket.
“I think he’s my cousin. Rest in peace, Chief B,” Lillard said. “I think he left it to me.”
Lillard revealed at his post-game press convention that his cousin, Brandon, died when he was quarantined in Portland after the NBA suspended the season in mid-March due to the coronavirus outbreak. He had planned to avoid through Lillard’s space to prepare breakfast, but passed out. By the time Lillard was handed over into his cousin’s space, he was already dead.
That pain stayed with Lillard in the midst of his quest to help the Blazers make it to the playoffs for the seventh consecutive run, as well as to encourage wartime parties and media members who did not settle for becoming the most productive player in the NBA. player the season restarted.
“It’s hard, ” said LIllard. “I’m just going to continue what I think he would need me to do, and I do it that way. Just look to stay on the path I know you’re proud of.
It’s moderate that Brandon is proud of Lillard those days. He scored 61 points against Dallas on Sunday, one point less than Kobe Bryant’s 62-point stand against the Mavericks in the 2005–06 season. After scoring 51 points against Philadelphia on Sunday, Lillard has become the eighth player to record at least five 50-point games in an unmarried season. And he was given the only performances after unusually missing two loose shots and a three-point outlook on Saturday’s loss to the Clippers, prompting repeated arguments between Paul George and Patrick Beverely of the Clippers and Lillard.
These games have become so memorable that Portland coach Terry Stotts Lillard’s recent effort in which he scored 50 issues and won last year’s 37-foot playoff series against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
“You have to put them in the context of the importance of the game,” Stotts said. “If we lose this game, we may not make it to the playoffs. So, the magnitude of this game, even if you take up position in an empty gym and in a bubble, the season in play and is catching up with Oklahoma. City. I play.”
Lillard gave his cousin credit for making sure he would play his best. As Lillard’s private chef, Brandon constantly reminded him, “You have to eat healthy foods.” Then Brandon would remind Lillard to have breakfast and stay hydrated. He’d bring enough water to his room. It would help Lillard exercise during the summer. No wonder Lillard called Brandon his “right arm.”
“He’s the only user I’m with every day,” Lillard said. “He cheers me on.”
Then, when Lillard heard the tragic news, he sought closure. He said goodbye. He prayed on his body. Blazers’ escort C.J. McCollum, who has also become close to Lillard’s cousin, visited his teammate and cried. It seemed appropriate then for Lillard to encourage McCollum to the ball in final possession despite injuries and the 2 out of 14 shot from the field. McCollum kicked a couple of free throws for a 134-131 lead with 3.9 seconds to play.
Lillard alerted all his comrades. Anthony heard the news in his post-game interviews. But he swore to “talk to him and send him my deepest condolences.” Lillard and Anthony have been defending themselves recently. Anthony spent the rest of the day with Lillard after Portland’s loss to the Clippers. They left the area in combination after their win over Denver. Earlier in the week, Lillard comforted teammate Josef Nurkic after his grandmother went into a coma after being diagnosed with COVID-19.
As a result, Lillard remained committed to staying in Portland because he prefers to maintain a circle of family environment than be a component of the league’s fluid movement.
“I don’t live my life or play the game according to the criteria or expectations of others. I do it for the reasons I love, which is to compete for fraternity, the connection with my teammates and coaches and functionality and enthusiasts. and then we can percentage of anything, ” said Lillard. “When I look back and say, ‘We had something special,’ be proud of that. And not that when I finished playing, I look back like ‘Oh, you did this and you bounced here and bounced there.’ That’s not what I need for my career.”
Certainly, Lillard also believes he can win an NBA championship after reaching the Western Conference finals last year. One of the reasons: you have the greatest confidence in your game. Still, Lillard shared that his close friends told him “you don’t appreciate enough what you do.”
Instead, Lillard tries to “always keep up with the following.”
Once the game was over, Lillard didn’t need to move on. He looked at the press line and shouted, “Respect my name!” After all, Undisputed’s Skip Bayless recently reduced Lillard’s game. Then I went to yell at a handful of scribes because “these are the other people who usually have something to say and who broadcast everything they’re going to publish.”
After some other breathless performance, Lillard not only put more respect on his behalf. He gave his respect to his cousin, who stayed with him in spirit, and added when an unlikely three-point shot fell into the basket.
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