Damian Lillard had another subpar game by his standards during Wednesday night’s 116-96 win over Memphis. But his third-quarter performance provided a hint of what could be on the horizon.
Lillard went into halftime having shot 2 of 11 from the field for nine points and the Portland Trail Blazers trailed the Grizzlies, 57-51.
Once again, Lillard’s shot was doing more clanking than swishing. He couldn’t find a rhythm and the team was suffering because of it.
At halftime, he and CJ McCollum discussed remaining aggressive in the second half. They couldn’t afford, Lillard said, to come out lackadaisical as they did Monday in Los Angeles when a 56-42 deficit to the Clippers ballooned to 91-61 by the end of the third quarter.
“Don’t come out and have a slow, laid-back third quarter, easing ourselves into the game,” Lillard said to McCollum.
Both followed through and came out shooting but each missed his first shot. However, both also found center Jusuf Nurkic with passes that led to scores and then McCollum hit a jumper. That 6-0 run tied the game at 57-57.
Around that time - Lillard didn’t specify - he heard Memphis players call out “one through five,” which told him that they planned to switch every position on defense. In that case, Lillard could find himself after a switch matched up against someone he could get a good shot against.
“I knew that I would be able to probe and search a little bit and try to find something to get something going,” Lillard said.
He then ventured over to Chauncey Billups and made a request.
“Leave me out here for this quarter,” Lillard said. “Let me find it a little bit.”
Billups obliged noting that the team’s motion offense wouldn’t be needed much against a switching defense.
“When they are switching there’s no reason to really run all of those,” he said. “Pick the matchup that you want, let them switch and see if you can take advantage of it.”
The plan worked and Lillard rediscovered the magic that had been eluding him for much of the first four games this season.
“I knew that I would have that whole 12 minutes to find matchups, attack, get aggressive and that was it,” he said. “I just got it to go in a few times.”
Lillard made 4 of 10 shots in the quarter including 3 of 6 threes. His 11 points helped lead the team to a 36-20 quarter that gave the Blazers an 87-77 lead going into the fourth quarter.
At the 8:14 mark, Lillard hit a 31-foot three. At 6:53, he sank a step-back 30-footer. McCollum chimed in with an 18-foot jumper. Then at the 5:09 mark, Lillard dropped a 28-foot step-back three to give the Blazers a 73-67 lead.
Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard, center, drives to the basket on Memphis Grizzlies Steven Adams, left, and guard Ja Morant, right, during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Portland, Ore., Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2021. (AP Photo/Steve Dykes)AP
Lillard scored just one more basket in the quarter, an 11-footer from the right side that gave the Blazers an 81-72 lead with 1:15 remaining in the third.
When the game ended, Lillard’s stat line wasn’t pretty. It read, 6-of-22 shooting for 20 points. On the season, Lillard is now shooting 33.3% from the field and 17.1% on threes. His 17.8 scoring average is the lowest of his career. He hasn’t averaged fewer than 25.1 points per game since the 2014-15 season when he put up 21 per outing.
Nevertheless, Lillard isn’t the least bit concerned.
“I know at some point there’s going to be a big breakthrough,” Lillard said. “I don’t know when. But it’s going to happen.”
For now, he just wants to keep shooting and finding success where he can.
“You just want to see the ball going in,” he said.
That requires remaining committed to cranking up shots despite his struggles.
“When you’re in a stretch like I am shooting the ball, I think it’s important to jump into it,” he said. “To get more aggressive and get yourself out of it. That’s kind of where I got to in the third.”
While his shots weren’t falling consistently, many of those put up by his teammates were and Lillard was finding them. He made sure to use the attention Memphis’ defense paid him to find open teammates. He did so 10 times for assists.
“When I’m being aggressive, the play exposes itself,” he said. “Somebody will come help. I’ll see him shift and I’ll see an open guy and I’m gonna make that play. Even if I’m being aggressive to score, I think it’s important as a scorer to keep them off balance to where they know he’s willing to hit the open man.”
Lillard making such plays, Billups said, mitigates some of the shooting woes.
“I think he had a great floor game,” Billups said.
Plus, Lillard is playing solid defense. Just about the only thing Lillard isn’t doing well is sinking shots at his normal rate, something likely to change at any moment.
“I’m just happy with what he’s trying to give us every single night from just being a point guard, period,” Billups said.
-- Aaron Fentress | afentress@Oregonian.com | @AaronJFentress (Twitter), @AaronJFentress (Instagram), @AaronFentress (Facebook).
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