The moment was almost too perfect.
Portland guard Damian Lillard dribbled on the perimeter — just inside half court, really — with the game clock winding down and his team tied with Oklahoma City. Lillard already had 47 points. The Blazers already had a 3-1 lead in the series.
He launched from an estimated 37 feet … and drilled it Tuesday night in front of his home crowd. A nice even 50 points and a first-round series win punctuated by Lillard waving goodbye to the Thunder and star guard Russell Westbrook.
In the process of burying the shot, Lillard also buried doubt. When he waved goodbye, it was a reminder of how he refused to do the same to his own teammates.
Before the series started, the Blazers had lost 10 consecutive playoff games, including first-round sweeps each of the past two years.
After the first of those sweeps, Lillard did a Twitter Q&A with fans in which it was suggested to him that he would need to leave Portland for someplace like Golden State if he ever wanted to win a championship. He replied, "I'm willing to not win it if I can't build it where I am."
He's reiterated that message multiple times since then, including in February when talking to Yahoo Sports. Lillard said: "I do want to win a championship, but there's other stuff that means more to me. … It's almost like I'm not willing to sell myself out for that."
I'm a sucker for Lillard's perseverance and his staunch refusal to request a trade (or sign as a free agent) in search of a ring.