Damian Lillard Urges Blazers To Move On From Suns Loss: 'This One Is Over'
There's a lot to harp on from final moments of the Trail Blazers' most disappointing loss of the season.
The foul call on Norman Powell that prompted Devin Booker's game-winning free throws. The hopeless coach's challenge that burned a timeout and prevented Portland from advancing the ball past halfcourt for a final shot. Carmelo Anthony inbounding to Robert Covington a beat or two early with 5.2 seconds left and the Blazers up two, before Damian Lillard had much of a chance to come open. Covington's subsequent missed free throws, which could have iced the game and clinched Portland a playoff berth.
But the questionable decisions and unlucky breaks that kept the Blazers from beating the West's top two teams in as many nights are in the past now. Portland still controls its own destiny for the six seed, narrowly avoiding the play-in tournament. Finishing fifth is still in play, too.
It all depends on Sunday's season finale against the Denver Nuggets, though. Without a win over Nikola Jokic and company, the Blazers could very well fall into pits of the play-in, and a potential opening date with Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors.
Damian Lillard, it was clear after the game, left Phoenix as frustrated as anyone. But he's refusing to let those feelings linger with another most important game of the season dawning.
"This one is over. We gotta make sure that we win this last one," Lillard said. "It does us no good to hold onto this game and go out there and not be locked in for the next one. The last game of the season is now the most important game of the season. So we gotta move on and make sure we handle our business at home."
A first-round matchup with the LA Clippers still seems most likely. The Mavericks are a half-game in front of Portland, with their last two games coming against the Toronto Raptors and Minnesota Timberwolves. Denver would probably rather stay at fourth than move up to third, where a prospective matchup with the Los Angeles Lakers looms after the first round.
Beat the Nuggets, whether they're playing to win or not, and the Blazers will do what seemed something close to impossible not even three weeks ago: Own a top-six seed. While playing on Sunday for fifth, without the need of a Dallas loss, was a far preferable outcome for Portland given the challenges presented by a potential Clippers matchup, the opportunity to stay out of the play-in by winning one game at home is still a golden one for the Blazers.
Good thing Lillard is already making sure his fatigued, dispirited team sees it that way.