Notebook: Damian Lillard Erupts Late To Give Trail Blazers Win Over Thunder

Notes, observations, analysis and more from the Portland Trail Blazers' stunning 115-104 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday.

The Blazers stepped on the Thunder's throat halfway through the first quarter, when Terry Stotts made his first substitution. Suddenly a tie game was 29-17, and ever-confident Portland couldn't miss from three. The Blazers eventually extended their first half lead to 24, one matched midway through the third quarter, but Oklahoma City began slowly chipping away from there. When Luguentz Dort drained a three with 5:40 left, the Thunder had their first lead since early in the first – one that didn't last long.
Portland's next five scores after falling behind 102-97 with 4:48 left: Damian Lillard corner three, Gary Trent Jr. corner three, Lillard pull-up three, Lillard step-back three, Robert Covington open three, Lillard deep three. Just like that, the Blazers were winners 115-104, snatching thrilling victory from the jaws of embarrassing defeat. Lillard's incredible shot-making in crunch time will get the headlines, and rightfully so. But it was also his passes that set up those triples from Trent and Covington, as Oklahoma City sold out to stop Lillard during his favorite time of the game. Better luck next time.

Y'ALL KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS @DAME_LILLARD | #NBAALLSTAR pic.twitter.com/8uuyioyqSE
— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) February 17, 2021

Anfernee Simons connected on five of his first six tries from deep, continuing the hot shooting that's accompanied his ongoing run of seven straight games in double-figures. But let's not allow his torrid three-point shooting to overshadow other clear areas of improvement in Simons' game. He made several impressive passes against Oklahoma City – in pick-and-roll, transition and as a penetrator – and played physical, instinctive defense. One quibble: Simons was a bit too physical when matched up with the Thunder's strong, athletic guards, ultimately fouling out midway through the fourth quarter.
Gary Trent Jr. just continues adding nuance to his offensive game on a nightly basis. It may be time adjust even recent appraisals of his long-term ceiling; Trent clearly has the skill and instincts to be more than one of the best movement shooters in basketball.

We recently advocated for Lillard to sometimes attack his defender in isolation instead of ball-screen and dribble hand-off action. One of the only players in basketball who has the defensive goods to keep Dame in check one-on-one? Dort. Rote screens from Robert Covington and Carmelo Anthony obviously didn't do Lillard any favors here, but it was still jarring to see him so forcefully stymied by a single defender. There's a reason Lillard's outburst didn't come until winning time, and it's not because he wasn't trying to put the game away earlier. Believe the basketball nerd hype on Dort; he's a monster perimeter defender, both on and off the ball.

Nassir Little made the most of his stint in the rotation with Rodney Hood and Harry Giles out. He confidently stroked a catch-and-shoot wing triple on his first possession – just as he did versus the Mavericks – and drained both of his remaining three-point attempts, too. Maybe moire encouraging was Little showing off his athletic chops on an and-1 dunk while leaking out in transition, then with a lefty drive and poster dunk that had Portland's bench hyped.
Derrick Jones Jr. was extremely active defensively yet again, and even scored 13 points, his second-highest total of the season. But chief among the many reasons why the Blazers found such tough offensive sledding in the fourth quarter – before Lillard time, at least – was the Thunder completely ignoring Jones away from the ball to send extra bodies at Lillard off the bounce. His absence didn't compel Lillard's individual heroics by itself, obviously, but it's telling that Portland's eruption came after Carmelo Anthony replaced Jones in Terry Stotts' crunch-time five.