Published 12:17 IST, April 24th 2020
Damian Lillard's iconic clutch shot during Game 5 vs OKC Thunder last year; watch video
A year ago, Damian Lillard shot a clutch three over Oklahoma City Thunder’s Paul George, winning the Portland Trail Blazers their first playoffs win in 3 years.
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Friday marked the first anniversary of Damian Lillard shooting a clutch three over Oklahoma City Thunder’s Paul George, winning the Portland Trail Blazers their first playoffs game in three years. The Damian Lillard clutch shot broke the tie, earning Trail Blazers their victory with a 118-115 score. They advanced to the Western Conference finals, where they lost to the Golden State Warriors. Here is the Damian Lillard clutch shot during the Trail Blazers vs OKC Thunder game.
Damian Lillard clutch shot: Damian Lillard game-winner vs OKC Thunder wins Portland the playoffs
Damian Lillard clutch shot: Paul George on the Damian Lillard game-winner
After the game, the Lillard's shot was considered the best playoff shot in recent history. Paul George, who now plays for the Los Angeles Clippers, had spoken to the media about the shot soon after. As per the NBA star, Lillard's was a 'bad shot'.
Goerge stated that Lillard's shot was bad, even though he made it. However, he knew that people would only remember the shot. While many reports agreed with George about the technicality, they pointed out Lillard's history with long three-pointers. Last year, Lillard was shooting 36% on 43-of-177 shooting and led the league in clutch shots with 10 in 2013. For playoffs, Lillard was 5-for-5 on shots from at least 30 feet.
Golden State Warriors Steph Curry (79 three-pointers) was the only player who had more three-pointers from over 30 feet than Lillard's 46 three-pointers since 2012. This includes Lillard's clutch shot over Chandler Parsons in 2014 during his second year in the NBA, which led Portland to the second rounds of the playoffs for the first time since the 1999-2000 season. Lillard, who saw George's comment, laughed it off with a 'lol'.
Also read | Damian Lillard claims Portland should never have gone ahead with LaMarcus Aldridge trade
Thunder's Paul George on defending deep game-winner by Blazers' Damian Lillard: "That's a bad shot. I don't care what anybody says. That's a bad shot. But, hey, he made it. That story won't be told, that it's a bad shot. You live with that." pic.twitter.com/21ueYAHHzY
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) April 24, 2019
— Damian Lillard (@Dame_Lillard) April 24, 2019
Damian Lillard game-winner
Happy 1st Anniversary to this epic moment 👋@dame_lillard | #RipCity pic.twitter.com/Bs4v9KYJss
— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) April 23, 2020
Also read | Devin Booker will take injured Damian Lillard's place for NBA 2020 All-Star Game: Report
12:17 IST, April 24th 2020