PORTLAND — Lillard Time. We kept hearing about it, that time that comes near the end of games, but the Trail Blazers weren’t living in it. The memories of that time, feeling further away at each mention.
But on Friday night, for about 15 minutes of real time, or 3:28 of basketball time, the Blazers and the fans in the Moda Center were reminded what a time it is.
Damian Lillard finished with 27 points, seven assists, four rebounds and a standing ovation from the Moda Center crowd as the Blazers beat the Los Angeles Clippers 102-91. Lillard scored 11 points in the fourth quarter with nine of them coming in the final 3:28 — while being the primary defender on Chris Paul down the stretch — to break Portland’s seven-game losing streak.
“He’s been very determined and the back-to-back threes would probably be the signature plays of the game, but I thought he showed great leadership,” his head coach Terry Stotts said. “Great poise, on a night that he wasn’t necessarily shooting the ball that well to come back and make those two shots.”
Stotts later said that Lillard’s determination and engagement with his teammates were constant throughout the game.
The Clippers — coming into Friday’s match-up fresh off blowing a 23-point lead at home to their arch-rival Warriors less than 24 hours earlier in Los Angeles — were in the midst of a comeback when the clock struck “Letter O.”
It looked like — once again — the Blazers would drop another game in which they had a double-digit lead when their lead dwindled back to just two points with under 3:30 left.
CJ McCollum, who finished with 18 points, was driving baseline when he found Lillard perched on the elbow for a 3-pointer to extend the lead to 90-85.
Blake Griffin, who suffered an injury scare in the first half but returned to finish with 21 points and seven rebounds, charged down the floor in a flash, cutting the lead back to three.
Lillard cashed an even deeper 3-pointer on the next possession when he saw Paul back up one centimeter too many to put Portland up by six.
Then Lillard pointed to his wrist at the imaginary watch that everybody could see clearly once again. It was “Lillard Time.”
“When that one went in I was like ‘it’s on,’ ” Lillard said.
Coming into the game, Lillard had been shooting 25 percent in the fourth quarter according to NBA.com.
His dominant stretch was nice, but the Blazers just needed a win after a brutal seven-game losing streak that included some tough last-second breaks and not enough stops.
The Blazers didn’t need any breaks and held the Clippers to 18 points in the 4th quarter on 33 percent shooting.
“I’ve never lost seven games in a row,” McCollum said. “It was tough. Especially when you’re right there, you get a Z-Bo tap in. One footed a shot that you watch, I was right there.”
Portland’s reserves had a pretty good night, led by Ed Davis.
Davis battled on the interior all night with Griffin, DeAndre Jordan and Josh Smith. He finished with season-highs of 17 points and 15 rebounds.
An Aminu put-back took Portland’s lead up to 10 points with 6:03 left in the third quarter, which was Portland’s biggest lead at 63-53.
Behind the gunslinging of Jamal Crawford, the Clippers stayed tight with the Blazers, down 73-75 after the third.
Crawford scored nine of his 20 points in the third quarter.
The fourth quarter was an ugly display of basketball. The Clippers missed their first three shots, on one possession.
Both teams combined for only four field goals in the first 3:21 of the quarter.
The Blazers got the finish they’ve needed for nearly two weeks, but it was just in time.
“It’s more about finishing games,” McCollum said. “I think we did that tonight, seeing what time it was.”
