The NBA All-Star Game is now using the Elam Ending, so Lillard wasn’t working against the clock. The NBA All-Star weekend might not be Luka Doncic’s best showcase and that’s OK, For the second season in a row, Luka’s All-Star weekend was very quiet, Tim Hardaway Jr. Is no longer a bad contract waiting to be traded. Blazers' Damian Lillard reminds Stephen Curry, Warriors he's the best clutch player in the NBA Lillard isn't as great a shooter as Curry, but he's the one you want taking the winning shot That was a good shot. Build your custom FanSided Daily email newsletter with news and analysis on Portland Trail Blazers and all your favorite sports teams, TV shows, and more. But the advantage of the 3-point line makes it even less likely we’d find a higher clutch true-shooting percentage was we move back through previous eras. After sizing up Dorian Finney-Smith and taking a few dribbles, it was Dame Time. This game would be no different. Florida State football: Will McKenzie Milton win Seminoles quarterback job? After the play, Doncic looks to the bench and shrugs. It’s a tough shot.”. Yet, if the players are forgetting or ignoring strategy then the team’s problems run deeper than simply not being able to get stops consistently. He was on an island guarding one of the league’s premier closers. Part of it’s the mask and part of it’s the noise in the arena or whatever. Blake Griffin is headed to Brooklyn and the NBA’s strangest experimental roster is about to get even stranger. How the Mavericks botched their defensive strategy on Damian Lillard’s clutch shot. Damian Lillard has a clutch bucket against every team in the NBA. Many of these game-winners by Dame have been buzzer-beaters, obviously including his two famous playoff game-winners, and the unbelievable shot against the Chicago Bulls last week. To put that in context, that rate of points scored per minute would work out to roughly 52.7 points per game if he was sustaining it across all the minutes he had played this season. Joe Johnson, Al Horford, Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard, Stephen Curry, James Harden – 7. Damian Lillard's All-Star game-winner was just the latest heroic shot in what might be the greatest clutch-shooting season in NBA history. He can have a bad game till the last four minutes of the fourth quarter and then not miss a single shot. Lillard has the most game-winning field goals in the last five seconds since 2012/13 with nine. As Carlisle notes, it appears that none of the players took notice. Lillard made his move and hit a step back three from the top of the arc to give Portland a 119-116 advantage with 32 seconds remaining. Subscribe here to get it delivered to you via email each morning. With his incredible clutch shot-making and 21 – 14 record, Damian Lillard should be sitting in third in these rankings. “On that particular play, we were calling for a double team and our guys didn’t hear it,” Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle said. I probably should have made him drive. But the efficiency is even more impressive than the volume. Every shot he takes seems like a bad shot until it goes through the net. ... Simsby gets unusual shot at WGC and holds his own. The difference between Lillard’s mark and his (16.4 percentage points) is roughly the same as the difference between Okur and the 230th-best season — Ray Allen’s 52.1 true shooting percentage on 143 true shoot attempts with the 2002-03 Seattle SuperSonics. I'm saying that upfront because after what Lillard did to Curry's Warriors on Wednesday night, there are . Damian Lillard rose to the occasion once again for the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday, leading the team with an easy 34 points and some clutch heroics. In reality, the game had no business coming down to the wire after Portland scored 45 points in the third quarter. Champions League power rankings: PSG in position to win it all over Bayern Munich? LeBron James – 8 . That Finney-Smith was alone is a problem, however. Powered by Minute Media © 2021 All Rights Reserved. And we’re getting the last two seasons of Michael Jordan’s second three-peat, and the entire careers of players like Kobe Bryant, Stephen Curry and LeBron James who are regarded as some of the greatest clutch performers ever. Facebook; Twitter; Facebook Messenger; Pinterest; Email; print; NEW ORLEANS -- Another night, another clutch performance from Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard.. Sure, this one featured another game-sealing bucket from Lillard -- his 25th game-tying or go-ahead field goal in the final 20 seconds of the fourth quarter or overtime, most in the NBA since he entered the league in 2012 … With 37 seconds left to play, the Blazers had possession and the ball was in the hands of Lillard, naturally. Damian Lillard clutch shot: Paul George on the Damian Lillard game-winner. The plan was to double team Lillard and force him to give up the ball. The Whiteboard is The Step Back’s daily basketball newsletter, covering the NBA, WNBA and more. The players knew what to do and simply didn’t execute the plan. Damian Lillard is the Trail Blazers' all-time leader in 50-point games. First Half Stats Rundown: 5 numbers that explain the Mavericks’ season so far. Damian Lillard proved once again there's no one better in the NBA with a minute left. Paul George, who now plays for the Los Angeles Clippers, had spoken to the media about the shot soon after. We'll never pass along your email address to spammers, scammers, or the like. I’ve had to be talked out of writing the “Lillard is at least Curry’s equal” column five times already this season. And while the stakes are obviously much lower in the regular season or the exhibition shenanigans of the All-Star Game, he’s arguably never been hotter in the clutch than he is right now. Over that span, for a single season, no one has been better than Damian Lillard. That works out to a true shooting percentage over 84.8 percent. Damian Lillard caps a 44-point night with the game ... as he finished with a Reggie Miller-esque six points in 8.2 seconds to burnish his legend as one of the decade’s best clutch shot-makers. Your privacy is safe with us. It’s hard to fault Finney-Smith’s defensive decision-making on the play. (More Sports News)Lillard shot eight three-pointers in … Lillard, who already has the fifth-highest usage rate this season, has been single-handedly keeping the Trailblazers in the playoff mix. How the Mavericks botched their defensive strategy on Damian Lillard’s clutch shot. Damian Lillard is not better than Stephen Curry.I’m saying that upfront because after what Lillard did to Curry’s Warriors on Wednesday night, there are bound to be some flaming-hot takes flying around. Yet, it never came. Knowing their history of close games, the final moments carry so much more importance. In those minutes, he’s scored an almost unbelievable 104 points. It’s par for the course when the Dallas Mavericks and Portland Trail Blazers play one another. To be honest, I’ve got one burning inside me. Your favorite teams, topics, and players all on your favorite mobile devices. Subscribe to Stathead , the set of tools used by the pros, to unearth this and other interesting factoids. How the Mavericks have succeeded and failed so far this season. At this point in his career, there’s no denying that Damian Lillard enjoys playing against the Houston Rockets. The previous season-high is Mehmet Okur who finished the 2006-07 season in Utah with a 68.4 true shooting percentage on 110 true shooting attempts. Only 2 players over the last 25 seasons have led in both clutch time points and clutch time field goal percentage in the same season (min. As Luka Doncic and Damian Lillard duked it out in the fourth quarter, it was a certainty that the outcome of the game would come down to the final seconds. Damian Lillard has scored 82 points on 63% FG in clutch time this season. Portland Trail Blazers news from FanSided Daily. In the clutch this season, Lillard is 31-of-49 from the field, 14-of-24 from beyond the arc and a perfect 28-of-28 from the free-throw line. In fact, he may be in the midst of the best clutch-shooting season in NBA history. Damian Lillard – 9. Hardaway has become an integral part of the Mavericks’ roster. One of the strangest All-Star weekends in recent memory ended with an incredibly familiar sight — Damian Lillard hitting a contested and wildly clutch shot. Damian Lillard is not better than Stephen Curry. As the second half of the NBA season gets underway, which teams are going to see the level of difficulty ramp up? 50 FGA): Hakeem Olajuwon in 1996-97 and Kevin Garnett in 1999-00. Damian Lillard ends NBA All-Star Game with half-court game-winner (Video), James Harden's All-Star Game Outfit is Something, NBA Twitter couldn't get enough of Anfernee Simons' socially-distanced kiss dunk, Anfernee Simons wins 2021 NBA Dunk Contest in close fashion, Damian Lillard’s homage to Brandon Roy has Blazers fans swooning. He’s on pace to become the first player since the NBA started collecting play-by-play stats to finish the season with at least 100 clutch true shooting attempts (shots plus trips to the free-throw line) and a true shooting percentage over 80. Five of the best All Star moments in Dallas Maverick history. Morikawa plays a steady hand to win Workday Championship. The Whiteboard is The Step Back’s daily basketball newsletter, covering the NBA, WNBA and more. He made a tough shot.”. His shrug encapsulates the team’s defensive effort and far too often their mentality. Dallas’ Dame Time disaster. Damian Lillard posted 44 points for the Portland Trail Blazers in a 123-119 win over the Sacramento Kings before the NBA All-Star break. Lillard’s Portland Trailblazers lead the NBA with a 12-4 record in games decided during clutch time. Damian Lillard likes to have the ball in his hands in clutch time. The NBA’s play-by-play statistics only go back to the 1996-97 season so we’re only capturing a slice of NBA history. “I mean, I probably should have made him drive,” Finney-Smith said, “I pay attention to the clock a little more—I knew it was 33 [seconds]. Trail Blazers' Damian Lillard hits one of the wildest ... as one of the most clutch shot-makers in the league, but set a pretty high standard for what constitutes an amazing shot. Can you name the only other player in franchise history with multiple 50-point games? Lillard came into the All-Star break having played 71 clutch minutes for the Portland Trail Blazers. Damian Lillard is clutch. Damian Lillard hit a 37-foot 3-point shot with less than 10 seconds left to put the Blazers within two points. He’d also be the first to finished with a true shooting percentage over 70. Whether it’s hitting daggers over Houston and Oklahoma City in the NBA playoffs or jumpers from half court in the 2021 NBA All-Star Game, the Trail Blazers guard thrives in moments when the pressure is … Breaking News “No healing without the truth”: How a federal commission could help America understand systemic racism; That shot was another reminder of his clutch-ness, but a new stat proves he has been the most clutch player since he arrived in the league. Don’t sleep on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is quietly having a remarkable shooting season for a player this young. https://sports.yahoo.com/damian-lillard-doesn-t-shy-020642350.html And even if he undergoes some serious regression to the mean over the rest of the season, there’s a good chance he’ll still be holding the top spot. Lillard has hit come iconic clutch shots in his career, including two walk-off, series-winning 3-pointers in the playoffs. There have never been two ways about it. What’s more damning is that the coaching staff discussed the situation and strategy they wanted to implement in their last timeout less than a minute before Lillard drained his shot. After wowing Rip City for nine seasons with playoff buzzer-beaters, remarkable individual scoring runs and too many clutch performances to count, Damian Lillard … Mosley heads up Dallas’ defensive play calling. After the game, the Lillard's shot was considered the best playoff shot in recent history. Leading up to Sunday night, 16 of the last 18 games between the two teams were decided by single-digits or have gone into overtime. Not great. FILE – Damian Lillard #0 of the Portland Trail Blazers takes a shot against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the fourth quarter at Moda Center on January 25, 2021 in Portland, Oregon. Damian Lillard ended the 2019 Trail Blazers-Thunder playoff series with a buzzer-beating ... Lillard is a great shooter with incredible range and complete comfort in the clutch. He wasn’t supposed to be. We’d gone through that in our prep. Still, if there was ever a play for the team to step up and get it right, it was Lillard’s final shot. It’s clear that the Mavericks have issues on the defensive end. Dallas’ defense was a disaster for much of Sunday’s game. New, 25 comments. Portland Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard hit yet another game-winning shot to take down ... deficit 5 or less) with 36 points, 10 assists and 40 shot attempts. Subscribe here to get it delivered to you via email each morning. Though LeBron has had Anthony Davis missing for approximately two weeks, Dame has had the second and third best players from the Blazers for … During the play you can see Mavericks assistant coach Jamahl Mosley kneeling on the sideline, barking out orders. The first team to 170 would win the game and his pull-up from the logo were the final points Team LeBron needed. Unfortunately for the Mavericks, the closing seconds unfolded in a confusing and frustrating manner. Jalen Brunson does come off his man, Robert Covington, briefly and hedges toward Lillard to feign a double team, but by the time he does it’s too late. As per the NBA star, Lillard's was a 'bad shot'. “Our intention was to run and get the ball out of his hands. LeBron James, who is also called clutch, is second with eight.. The communication didn’t get there and he hit a difficult shot but it’s a shot he makes regularly. One of the strangest All-Star weekends in recent memory ended with an incredibly familiar sight — Damian Lillard hitting a contested and wildly clutch shot.