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Damian Lillard's game-winning three duplicated his feat in 2014

April 25, 2019 at 1:28AM

PORTLAND, Ore. – If Damian Lillard's series-clinching walkoff three-pointer on Tuesday night looked vaguely familiar, it's because the Portland Trail Blazers star has done it before.

His buzzer-beating three sent Houston packing back in 2014.

It might have been from a different spot and against a different team, but it was the same Lillard — cool and confident. As a result, the Trail Blazers are into the second round of the playoffs for the first time in three seasons.

"That's Dame," teammate Zach Collins said after Portland's 118-115 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder. "Besides the shot, that was one of the greatest performances I have ever seen. ... It will go down in the history books as that."

Lillard finished with 50 points, including 10 three-pointers — capped by the legend-making three — to end the Blazers-Thunder first-round, Western Conference series in five games.

With the score tied in the final moments, Lillard dribbled just inside of half-court near the Blazers logo and then pulled up and hit the winner at the buzzer from 37 feet. Then he waved goodbye to the Thunder bench.

"It was a little bit different," Lillard said about the two game-winners, which came from different sides of the court. "In that [2014] game we were down by two, there was less time. That time, I actually broke the play. … All the guys out there were telling me just run to the ball and that's what I did.

"Tonight, this was kind of the way it was set up."

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Lillard's wave was a statement — "That was having the last word," he said. The series with the Thunder was contentious, with plenty of trash-talking and Paul George dunking as time expired — his basket didn't count — with the Oklahoma City victory well in hand in Game 3.

Oklahoma City is out of the playoffs after one round for the third year in a row and has lost its past 12 playoff road games. Still, George, who was guarding Lillard on that final three-pointer, seemed to be taunting the Blazers following Tuesday's loss.

"I don't care what anybody says, that's a bad shot," George said. "But he made it. That story will be told that it was bad shot and you have to live with it."

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ANNE M. PETERSON Associated Press

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