PORTLAND (NBA) — Make room 0.9, there’s another game-winning, series-ending three-pointer in town.
Damian Lillard hit a 37-foot three-pointer as time expired to give the Trail Blazers a 118-115 victory versus the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game Five of the Western Conference three-six matchup in front of a sellout crowd of 20,241 Tuesday night at the Moda Center.
“It was a great feeling. When it left my hands, it felt good,” said Lillard. “I felt good about it. The last five or six minutes of the game, I just keep telling myself, like, for us to get this game, we was going to have to really, really dig to come out on top. The fact that I kept telling myself that and then we came out on top when the shot went in, I was like, man it really happened. We really dug and pulled it out. So it was a great feeling.”
The Trail Blazers have now eliminated the Thunder 4-1 and will move on to the Western Conference semifinals to face the winner of the two-seven series between the Denver Nuggets and San Antonio Spurs. It is the 12th time in franchise history and the first time since 2016 that the Blazers have advanced to the conference semis.
