PORTLAND, Oregon—After Damian Lillard hit his walk-off 3-pointer to send the Trail Blazers along in the playoffs, he waved goodbye to the Thunder bench.
“That was the last word,” he said afterward. “That was having the last word.”
Lillard finished with a franchise playoff-record 50 points and Portland eliminated Oklahoma City from the postseason in five games with a 118-115 victory on Tuesday night.
With the game tied, Lillard dribbled just inside of halfcourt near the Blazers logo and then pulled up and hit the game-winner at the buzzer from 37-feet. After his wave, Lillard was mobbed by his teammates and the crowd chanted “MVP! MVP!”
Lillard finished 10 three-pointers, second-most ever in a National Basketball Association (NBA) playoff game.
“All of those things that we did to give ourselves a chance to win were huge,” Lillard said. “And my part in it, I think, was probably my most important performance.”
Portland advances to the Western Conference semifinals to face the winner of the series between the Nuggets and San Antonio. Denver won 108-90 earlier in the night to take a 3-2 lead in that series.
It was the 12th straight road playoff loss for the Thunder, who have been eliminated in the opening round for three straight seasons.
Russell Westbrook had 29 points, 11 rebounds and 14 assists for his 10th career playoff triple-double and his second of the series. Paul George added 36 points.
Kyle Lowry scored 14 points as the Raptors finished off the Magic with ease, 115-96, bouncing back from a Game One defeat to win by double-digits in three of the next four. Toronto led by as many as 37 in the clincher—their biggest-ever margin in a playoff game.
It’s the fourth straight year the Raptors have reached the second round.
Joel Embiid scored 23 points and had 13 rebounds, and Ben Simmons added 13 points to help the Philadelphia 76ers rout the Brooklyn Nets, 120-100, and close out their Eastern Conference playoff series in five games.
Up next, a second round series against the Toronto Raptors, who dropped their playoff opener before winning four straight against Orlando—the same thing the Sixers did to Brooklyn.
Jamal Murray’s 23 points led six Nuggets in double figures and Denver routed the San Antonio Spurs, 108-90, to move within one win of their first playoff series triumph in a decade.
Up three games to two, the Nuggets can wrap up the series on Thursday night in San Antonio, where they won last weekend for the first time since 2012, regaining the home-court advantage.
“Very, very disappointing. It’s as simple as that,” George said. “We let this one slip away but it is what it is.”
Lillard had 34 points in the first half alone—more than Westbrook and George had combined (32) for the Thunder—but the Blazers had just a 61-60 edge going into the second half.
The Thunder led 90-88 going into the final quarter. Westbrook hit a 3-pointer to extend the lead while Lillard took a break on the bench.
Oklahoma City went up 105-90 with 7:45 left on Dennis Schroder’s pull-up jumper as Portland struggled.
Lillard’s 3-pointer pulled the Blazers within 108-103, but Westbrook answered with his own three. CJ McCollum’s bank shot cut Oklahoma City’s lead to 113-109 with 1:39 left. Maurice Harkless added free throws to get the Blazers within two.
McCollum tied it with a jumper with just under a minute left, but George scored on the other end. Lillard’s layup retied it then Westbrook missed a layup with 18.3 seconds left to set up Lillard’s epic buzzer beater.
“I don’t care what anybody says that’s a bad shot,” George said about Lillard’s three. “But he made it and that story will be told, but it was a bad shot. You live with it.”
McCollum finished with 17 for the Blazers, and Enes Kanter had 13 points and 13 rebounds.
The Blazers stole one in Oklahoma City, winning 111-98 on Sunday. Westbrook went cold, finishing was five of 21 from the field for 14 points. He missed his final 10 shots. Lillard finished with 24, including 15 in the third quarter.
Image credits: AP