“Could See CJ McCollum in My Peripheral”: Damian Lillard Discusses ‘Big Time’ OKC Shot Over Paul George With Malika Andrews

Ahead of his first game back in Portland, Damian Lillard sat down with ESPN’s Malika Andrews for an interview. During the conversation, Lillard revealed that his iconic shot against the Oklahoma City Thunder from the 2019 postseason was his favourite game-winner. The Milwaukee Bucks guard also broke down the final play of the first round.

Dame is one of the greatest players in the Portland Trail Blazers franchise. The star spent more than a decade representing the franchise and has knocked down some huge shots during his stint. One of the many game-winners that he knocked down came against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

During his initial years in the league, Lillard missed a game-winner at the end of the regulation of the Cavaliers-Blazers matchup. To redeem himself, on their next visit at the Quicken Loans Arena, Dame proceeded to drill down the game-winning, buzzer-beater.

“It was an overtime game and Terry’s in the Huddle drawing up play and I’m like give me the ball and I actually missed the shot. We went to overtime and Nick Batum ended up hitting the game-winner. The next time we played there I ended up doing the same thing I want the ball and I hit that was probably one of my first game-winners,” Lillard told Andrews.

Later, the 6ft 2” superstar did admit that his game-winning shot against the Oklahoma City Thunder was his favourite. Breaking down the final play, the seven-time All-NBA player narrated how he was being motivated to take the long-range shot. Even during the dying seconds of the clash, he noticed CJ McCollum encouraging him to take the attempt.

“If I had to pick one (favorite) – OKC. I just remember everybody kind of waving telling me to go cause they saw me waiting and I was so far from the basket… I could see CJ in my peripheral kind of like waving toward the basket and I just remember knowing what I was going to do already. Like, I had space, I saw the clock winding down it was a tie game so I was like even if I miss it’s overtime so lined it up that was it,” Lillard said.

With the game tied at 115 apiece, Lillard didn’t hesitate to attempt the 37-footer with Paul Geroge guarding him. Knocking down the three-pointer, Dame helped the Blazers grab a 118-115 win. The game-winner resulted in the OKC being eliminated from the 2019 postseason and going into their rebuild phase. Goes without saying, that the shot and the celebration that it was followed by has become one of the most memorable playoff moments in the modern basketball era.

Paul George lauded Damian Lillard for the shot

After Damian Lillard knocked down the game-winning shot, Paul George seemed to be in disbelief. During the postgame conference, PG13 came off as salty when he criticized Lillard, calling his attempt a “bad shot”.

However, after Lillard’s incredible shooting display in the 2021 All-Star Game, George changed his stance. Taking back his words from 2 years ago, the Los Angeles Clippers star admitted his mistake.

“Well, I guess I was criticized for the right reason for calling Dame’s shot in the playoffs a bad shot,” George said. “It’s a great shot. Two thumbs up.”

More recently, four years after the incident took place, PG13 decided to rub salt in his wounds. On his Podcast P, explained how he got ripped apart by the media for hating on Damian Lillard’s shot. Apart from detailing the play from his perspective, the star forward even displayed his admiration for the sharpshooter.

“I was emotional at the time. I got killed in the media, ‘oh he hating,’ Dame say, ‘oh he hating,’ it was a bad shot but to his respect, like he a hell of a shooter,” PG said.

Unfortunately, Dame never got his hands on the coveted NBA championship trophy during his stint with the Blazers. However, he did part ways with the franchise with numerous memories. And this play from 2019 against the Thunder has to be one of the most iconic ones.