Four minutes into the game, Damian Lillard made a jumper right around the free throw line. Thirty seconds later, he nailed a 20-footer. And then he kept going. By the time he was done for the evening, Lillard had 51 points in the Trail Blazers' stunning 137-105 win against the Golden State Warriors.
NBA scores 2016: Damian Lillard steals both Stephen Curry’s lightning and thunder
Lillard, constantly compared to Curry, finally upstaged him with a huge upset blowout vs. the Warriors.
Lillard should have been an All-Star last weekend, pushed out by a lack of injuries and Kobe Bryant's fan-voted starting spot. He wasn't pleased with that, instead spending the weekend writing and dropping this song about his snub. In his first game back from the break, against a player he's constantly compared to in Stephen Curry, Lillard saw his chance to prove wrong the people who counted him out. My goodness, surely this qualifies, right?
Heating up early, Lillard scored 17 points in the first quarter. His final tally of 51 points came on 18-of-28 shooting, with nine triples in 12 attempts, seven assists and six steals. While Curry put up 31 points himself, this was Lillard at his finest. Portland all but refused to miss shots all game, while its defense played fantastic just by performing the basics, like pick-and-roll defense that featured no elaborate switching or doubling.
Lillard and C.J. McCollum have been called the Splash Bros Lite, but on Friday, they took the actual Splash Bros' place, forcing the Warriors' defenders into a series of acrobatics atypical of most teams they face (since, you know, the Warriors can't play against themselves). McCollum finished with 21 points on 9-of-18 shooting with three shots from behind the arc, impressive in his own right, but this was Lillard's show the whole night. This shot capped his performance, and though a couple free throws shortly after would officially push him past the 50-point plateau, his entire performance can be rather simply summed up by the moonbeam he swished.
Message received: Lillard should have been an All-Star. But it wasn't just that message that Lillard sent, as he lit up Golden State for what is only their fifth loss of the year and as he outshined the NBA's best and most exciting player. By winning, Portland finally moved over .500 once again with a 28-27 record that puts them in the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference, just a half game behind the Dallas Mavericks. Lillard wanted everyone to know that the Blazers are very, very alive.
Message also received.
3 other things we learned
Markieff Morris' debut was an understandably quiet debut
Morris was quiet in his first game with the Washington Wizards, scoring six points on 2-of-8 shooting with two rebounds and two turnovers. Watching him, it was clear that was all that could be expected: he was visibly lost, even in the simplified version of things that Washington broke out for him.
There were a few moments, even when the shots themselves missed, that Morris showed his dynamism. He’s more explosive and a more skilled shot creator than the Wizards have had in the front court in years, and on paper, this all could work very well for Washington in the long run. Of course, with Morris, you’ll always have the looming threat that his mercurial temper could blow up at any moment. In that sense, whether Morris works or doesn’t is totally out of the Wizards’ hands.
Wesley Matthews needs his come-to-Jesus moment
The Mavericks set a franchise record with 19 made three-pointers on Friday, hitting nine in the second quarter alone. They also lost to the Orlando Magic, falling 110-104 in overtime despite leading for most of the fourth quarter. Matthews, who the Mavericks signed to a max contract last summer in anticipation of him recovering fully from his Achilles injury, once again felt absent, contributing just five points on 2-of-10 shooting with only three rebounds to his name.
On one hand, Matthews is still recovering from a serious injury that has ended NBA careers. But after a hot month shooting the ball in December, Matthews had an abysmal January and his struggles have dragged on to February now, too. The All-Star break was supposed to (and still could!) cure whatever was holding him back, but Matthews’ poor performance and Dallas’ late collapse is an inauspicious start. Matthews’ defense has lapsed at times, too, leaving the Mavericks out not only the max player they thought they signed, but even a passable rotation piece.
Matthews may not be 100 percent back for a few more months, but Dallas desperately needs a better version of him as they try to bounce back from a fifth loss in six games.
The Pacers' quiet trade deadline is vindicated
Well, for one game, at least. With the game in the balance, Myles Turner knocked down his first career three-pointer and Monta Ellis nailed one, too, turning a three-point deficit into a three-point lead that pushed Indiana past Oklahoma City in an impressive win. Indiana looked like one of the East's best teams early in the season before they took a tumble down the standings, where they're currently somewhat stable as the No. 6 seed. If this is any indication, maybe the post-All-Star break will be good for them and help Indiana get on that same groove we saw them open up the season with.
Play of the night
Here’s another shot from Damian Lillard, ending the first quarter with a J over Steph.
6 fun things
Just some casual Anthony Davis reverse alley-oop-dunk-through-contact stuff right here. But wait! In an open court, Giannis Antetokounmpo also threw down a very impressive dunk, albeit without contact. Choose your favorite!
Lillard probably inspired this Blazers fan half-court make.
Final scores
Magic 110, Mavericks 104 (OT) (Orlando Pinstriped Post | Mavs Moneyball recap)
Wizards 98, Pistons 86 (Bullets Forever recap | Detroit Bad Boys recap)
Nets 109, Knicks 98 (Nets Daily recap | Posting & Toasting recap)
Bulls 116, Raptors 106 (Blog a Bull recap | Raptors HQ recap)
Grizzlies 109, Timberwolves 104 (Grizzly Bear Blues recap | Canis Hoopus recap)
Heat 115, Hawks 111 (Hot Hot Hoops recap | Peachtree Hoops recap)
Pelicans 121, 76ers 114 (The Bird Writes recap | Liberty Ballers recap)
Pacers 101, Thunder 98 (Indy Cornrows recap | Welcome to Loud City recap)
Hornets 98, Bucks 95 (At the Hive recap | Brew Hoop recap)
Rockets 116, Suns 100 (The Dream Shake recap | Bright Side of the Sun recap)
Trail Blazers 137, Warriors 105 (Blazer’s Edge recap | Golden State of Mind recap)
Kings 116, Nuggets 110 (Sactown Royalty recap | Denver Stiffs recap)
Jazz 111, Celtics 93 (SLC Dunk recap | CelticsBlog recap)
Spurs 119, Lakers 113 (Pounding the Rock recap | Silver Screen & Roll recap)
* * *
Slam Dunk Contest: Aaron Gordon is the best runner-up ever
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