The Portland Trail Blazers closed out their first round series of the 2019 NBA Playoffs in dramatic fashion. Here are three takeaways from an epic Game 5.
A 37-foot 3-pointer by Damian Lillard at the buzzer helped the Portland Trail Blazers defeat the Oklahoma City Thunder 118-115 on Tuesday night at the Moda Center. With the dramatic Game 5 victory, Portland won this first round series, 4-1, in their first series win since 2016.
This game had the electricity you would find in any elimination game. However, OKC was in control for much of it. The Thunder led for 39 of the game’s 48 minutes. They jumped out to a 10-point first quarter lead that the Blazers had to spend the rest of the half clawing back from.
OKC surged again in the fourth quarter, taking a 15-point lead with 7:45 left in the game. Portland was in comeback mode the rest of the game, which was punctuated by Lillard’s buzzer-beater.
Dame led the Blazers with 50 points, seven rebounds and six assists. CJ McCollum and Maurice Harkless added 17 points each. Enes Kanter fought through a separated shoulder to produce 13 points and 13 rebounds.
Dame’s big game overshadowed big nights from Oklahoma City’s stars. Paul George finished with 36 points and nine rebounds on 13-of-20 shooting. Russell Westbrook notched another triple-double, rounding up 29 points (on 11-of-31 shooting), 14 assists, 11 rebounds, four steals and two blocks. Jerami Grant scored 16 points and Dennis Schroder had 17 off the bench.
Portland closed out an emotional series in front of its home crowd, and now awaits the winner of the Denver Nuggets–San Antonio Spurs series. Here are a few things Blazers fans can take away from an intense and unforgettable Game 5.