Portland Trail Blazers: Top 10 moments of the 2018-19 NBA season

1. Lillard’s 50 points and buzzer-beater to clinch first round series

The Portland Trail Blazers secured the third seed in the Western Conference playoffs for the second consecutive season. In 2018, they were matched up with the Pelicans. The Pels made slight work of Portland, sweeping them 4-0 despite not having home-court advantage in the series.

That result left a dark cloud over the Blazers’ heads for much of this season. Even as the team notched its first 50-win season in four years, few believed it was legitimate. Most saw the sixth-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder, helmed by triple-double machine Russell Westbrook and fringe MVP candidate Paul George, as the better team in this year’s first round matchup. The Blazers proceeded to prove those doubters wrong.

Not only did they go on to win the series, their first win since 2016, they did so in five games. The key was to force the Thunder to win by shooting. Oklahoma City shot 34.8 percent from 3-point range on the season and George, one of their best shooters, was nursing a shoulder injury. As a result, Portland was in control for much of the series.

The exclamation point came in the final moments of Game 5. OKC had found its shooting rhythm, shooting 44.4 percent from long distance on the game. That allowed them to hold a 15-point lead with 7:12 left in the fourth quarter. As is the theme of this list, though, the Blazers didn’t give up and went for one final rally.

Rip City went on a 23-8 run to tie the game at 115 with 33 seconds left in regulation. The Thunder had a chance to regain control, but Westbrook missed a layup with 18 seconds remaining. Now, the clock ticked down and Portland had possession. One miss and the game would go to overtime.

The Blazers didn’t miss. Instead, Damian Lillard knocked down a 37-foot 3-pointer to secure the 118-115 victory and the series. The shot helped him close the game with a playoff career-high 50 points on 17-of-33 shooting, including 10-of-18 shooting from beyond the arc.

The Blazers certainly had more historical moments on the horizon. However, “The Shot” is what will live on as the defining moment of Portland’s postseason. So many demons were exorcised in that one basket, erasing the disappointment of previous playoffs while setting the path for this team to go further than it had been in almost two decades.

Lillard’s shot made those that haven’t paid attention to the Portland Trail Blazers take notice. From there, the spotlight was on them until their demise against the Warriors. It will also be on them entering the 2019-20 season.

Rip City has now gone from “underdogs that happen to have home-court advantage” to having expectations for conference title contention in the coming years. We’ll see if they can deliver in the future. For now, the Blazers leave fans with a miraculous, unforgettable 2018-19 season.