Damian Lillard joined a laundry list of NBA players who have victimized the Rockets to...
Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard, left, dunks against Houston Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr., right, during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Portland, Ore., Sunday, Feb. 26, 2023. PORTLAND, Ore.
“We gave effort. It’s not like we didn’t give effort,” he said. “ made some really tough shots. But we need everybody to give effort on the defensive end.” Lillard was out of the game for most of the run the Rockets made to cut the Blazers’ lead from 23 points down to eight with 10:40 remaining in the fourth quarter. After he subbed back in, the Rockets momentarily closed within five points. But Lillard scored 21 of his points in the fourth quarter.
Lillard did not play in the first game the Rockets played against the Blazers in October. He scored 25 points during their second meeting in December. He needed just 12 minutes to match that on Sunday, and finished the first half with 41 points as the Blazers shot 60 percent from the field. The Rockets are young, obviously, but in the final third of a season that has been riddled with similarly disappointing performances. They had played the Blazers twice before Sunday, losing by double figures both times, and seen firsthand what Lillard could do in one of those games. Yet Silas defended his team when it was suggested that they did not execute the gameplan.
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