PORTLAND, OR – APRIL 23: Damian Lillard #0 of the Portland Trail Blazers reacts after he hit a game winning three-pointer against the Oklahoma City Thunder after Game Five Round One of the 2019 NBA Playoffs on April 23, 2019 at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty Images)
What did we witness on Tuesday night? Here’s an effort to sum up everything that happened after Damian Lillard broke the internet.
We’re about 13 hours removed from what’s bound to be one of the most memorable shots in NBA playoff history, and it’s all finally sinking in.
Outside of the optics of Damian Lillard‘s audacious dagger to punch Portland‘s ticket to the Western Conference semifinals, so much more happened on a night NBA fans won’t soon forget.
Jusuf Nurkic — who suffered a gruesome left leg injury in late March — surprised his teammates when he showed up to Moda Center to support them. Nurkic was pretty confident his presence would be the Trail Blazers’ lucky charm.
Did you catch what his shirt said, by any chance? Here’s a better look:
“Got Bricks? Next Question” is a not-so-subtle jab at Russell Westbrook’s poor shooting performance over the course of the series and at his unwillingness to answer certain reporters’ questions after games.
Enes Kanter, Nurkic’s de facto replacement, showed up big-time by averaging a double-double in the series while playing through a separated shoulder. He then went out of his way to thank the New York Knicks for waiving him, granting him the opportunity to join the Blazers.
After Lillard hit the shot that sunk the Thunder, the star point guard emerged from Portland’s doggy-pile celebration to frame what’s destined to be the iconic shot of the 2019 playoffs:
The photo quickly made its rounds on Twitter, piling up likes and retweets and plenty of funny accompanying captions.
So you’ve seen the Lillard shot about 1,000 times by now, but have you seen it four times at once? It’s only fair to close with this. Watch it, from every angle, in all it’s glory. Because it’s not often that you see someone take a shot that requires that type of guts, let alone see it go in.