Damian Lillard had a double-double with 34 points and 13 assists, leading Portland over Denver in Game 1 despite MVP-favorite Nikola Jokic‘s high-scoring outing. Not only was Lillard scoring with ease like always, but he was passing the ball at a historic level as well. He averaged 7.5 assists on the season but erupted for 13 in Portland’s most important game of the year so far.
Dame was facing double-teams throughout the night and used his passing abilities to rack up the most postseason AST by a Blazer in the 21st century. Those double-digit dimes were key in Portland getting an important Game 1 road win to take home-court advantage and carry that momentum throughout the rest of this series.
DAME’S ABILITY TO DISTRIBUTE MAKES PORTLAND’S OFFENSE LOOK AS UNSTOPPABLE AS EVER
COLORS KEY | FULL BLAZERS OUTLOOK
Dame Time proved that even when scoring isn’t coming easy, he is still as effective as the best players in the league thanks to his ability to distribute. His 13 assists were a playoff career-high and are the most postseason AST by a Blazers player since Damon Stoudamire in 1999. Lillard’s scoring and assists directly contributed to 54% of the team’s points in their win on Saturday night.
That doesn’t even take into account all the secondary assists that transpired when defenders were making their switches trying to cover the open man that all stemmed from Dame being such an offensive threat. Portland was able to go on many double-digit scoring runs, whether Dame was lighting it up himself or creating opportunities for his teammates after getting double-teams, proving that he can lead this offense in many ways as they are catching fire at the right time.
⌚️ DAME from DEEP.. Portland ends 3Q on an 8-0 run.#NBAPlayoffs on ESPN pic.twitter.com/rSrLzvnQsv
— NBA (@NBA) May 23, 2021
🔥 34 points for @Dame_Lillard
🔥 #NBAPlayoffs career-high 13 ASTDame, @trailblazers go up 1-0 vs. DEN.. Game 2 is Monday at 10 PM ET on TNT. pic.twitter.com/cRmt59tjum
— NBA (@NBA) May 23, 2021
Share this Damian Lillard article with friends and follow for more great sports content!
