Damian Lillard made a 37-foot pull-up 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds left, and the Portland Trail Blazers rallied from 15 points down in the fourth quarter to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 118-115 in Game 5 of the first round to advance to the Western Conference semifinals.
The Trail Blazers trailed 105-90 with 7:45 left in the fourth quarter. They were still down 107-92 with 6:54 left in the fourth quarter, with a 4.2% chance to win, and outscored the Thunder 26-8 the rest of the way.
During clutch time, the Trail Blazers outscored the Thunder 9-5. Lillard (No. 9 in clutch points, 2018-19) scored 5 of the Trail Blazers’ 9 on 2 for 2 shooting. Early in the fourth quarter, Zach Collins had 2 steals, both with the game within five points. With 1:10 left, Seth Curry stole the ball from Paul George, and CJ McCollum’s 22-foot pull-up jumper off it tied the game at 113.
Lillard had 50 points, 6 assists, 3 steals and 10 3-pointers.
For the Thunder, George had 36 points and 9 rebounds on 14 for 20 shooting, and Russell Westbrook added 29 points, 12 rebounds, 14 assists and 4 steals.
The Trail Blazers grabbed 13 offensive rebounds to the Thunder’s 6. The Thunder forced 10 turnovers, about 6 fewer than usual for this many possessions. The Trail Blazers’ starters were outscored 52-39 in 19 minutes together.