Last night’s 147-140 Game 5 loss to the Denver Nuggets was a heartbreaker for the Trail Blazers. Not only did it push them to the brink of elimination, now forcing them to win two games in a row to avoid a Round 1 exit; but it wasted what was unquestionably one of the all-time great playoff performances in Blazers’ history. In light of the loss, here are a few key numbers that tell the story of how the Blazers squandered an all-time performance from Damian Lillard.
The Numbers
- In the series, the Blazers have a 107.1 defensive rating and a 19.7 net rating with Jusuf Nurkic on the court
- They have a 143.1 defensive rating and a -31.2 net rating when Enes Kanter replaces him
- Jusuf Nurkic finished the game with 13 points and 11 rebounds, he was a +1
- Kanter finished with 4 points and 2 rebounds in 14 minutes; he was a -8
- Nurkic fouled out with 4:00 minutes remaining in the 4th quarter
- In Portland’s Game 4 victory, Nurkic stayed out of foul trouble and logged 27 minutes
- Denver’s Nikola Jokic played 27 minutes and totaled 16 points, 9 rebounds, and 1 assist in that Game 4
- In Game 5, Nurkic played 24 minutes in a game that went to double-overtime
- In Game 5, Jokic played 46 minutes and totaled 38 points, 11 rebounds, and 9 assists
- Three of the Trail Blazers other starters; CJ McCollum, Norman Powell, and Robert Covington played a combined 146 minutes
- Together, they scored 50 points and had 10 assists
- CJ McCollum scored 18 points on 22 shot attempts and had 7 assists on the night
- Denver guard Austin Rivers scored 18 points on 10 shot attempts and had 10 assists on the night
- McCollum earned just under $30 million this season
- Rivers is earning around $270,000 for the Nuggets and was out of the league entirely a few months ago
- Damian Lillard played 52 minutes in Game 5
- He scored 55 points on 24 shot attempts and added 10 assists
- Lillard is the first player in NBA history to record 55 points and 10 assists in a playoff game
- He tallied 12 three-pointers on the night – also an NBA playoff record
- Lillard scored 17 points on 6-8 shooting in two overtimes
- The rest of the Trail Blazers scored 2 points on 1-9 shooting in both overtimes
Blazers not named Damian Lillard in the two OT periods.
— Micah Adams (@MicahAdams13) June 2, 2021
Yikes. pic.twitter.com/SpnKcn7SzI
Dame: 55 PTS
— StatMuse (@statmuse) June 2, 2021
Rest of Blazers: 85 PTS
Dame: 17-24 FG (70.8%)
Rest of Blazers: 30-79 FG (38.0%)
Dame: 12-17 3P (70.6%)
Rest of Blazers: 9-31 3P (29.0%)
Dame: 17 PTS in both OT
Rest of Blazers: 2 PTS in both OT
Dame: 6-8 FG in both OT
Rest of Blazers: 1-19 FG in both OT pic.twitter.com/QSVkIrZv7r
- Portland’s 140-points were the most scored by any losing team during this year’s playoffs
- This is Lillard’s 9th NBA season, and the team has made the playoffs every year but his first
- If they lose this series, it will be his fifth first-round playoff exit in eight postseason appearances
- Portland’s President of Basketball Operations, Neil Olshey, made big offseason moves last summer to improve Lillard’s supporting cast
- These additions included Robert Covington, Derrick Jones Jr, and Harry Giles
- In Game 5, Covington scored 19 points and added 11 rebounds, but missed 2 critical dunks in overtime
- Jones Jr. and Giles were both healthy DNP’s
- Olshey is under contract through the 2023-24 season
- Damian Lillard’s contract expires the following year
Follow me @jordan_kirsch on Twitter and check out the Belly Up Basketball page for all the latest from the NBA hardwood.
