PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — 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 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 3-pointers, second-most ever in an 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."
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.
"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 Blazers stole one in Oklahoma City, winning 111-98 on Sunday. Westbrook went cold, finishing 5 of 21 from the field for 14 points. He missed his final 10 shots. Lillard finished with 24, including 15 in the third quarter.
With Lillard's performance last night, it has a lot of people talking... Is he a better point guard than Westbrook? Is he one of the best in the league?
Westbrook is an eight-time NBA All-Star, NBA MVP in 2017 and known to be the most consistent player to rack up triple doubles. Lillard outplayed him when it mattered most.
"All Damian Lillard did last night was prove once again, maybe once and for all, he's just a better basketball player than Russell Westbrook," sports columnist Skip Bayless said on the Fox Sports 1 show 'UNDISPUTED' Wednesday morning.
"It's official. Damian Lillard has moved himself into the top four elite point guards in the league. Steph, Harden, Lillard and Kyrie," FS1 Columnist Colin Cowherd stated.
"You throw everything you have into this game. It's a matter of a collectively going out there to play to the best of their ability," OKC coach Billy Donovan said, adding that he knew before the game what the Thunder were up against.
"You guys know it, you felt it in the building when they showed [Lillard] on the big screen," Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. "The fact that he showed up — no one knew he was going to show up. I honestly think we fed off that. There was a little good karma when he did show up."
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.
