Damian Lillard gets video tribute followed by standing ovation in his Portland return

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The Trail Blazers honor Damian Lillard with a video tribute followed by a standing ovation.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Damian Lillard was greeted with a long standing ovation from an appreciative Portland crowd when he was introduced for Milwaukee’s game against the Trail Blazers on Wednesday night.

With Anfernee Simons leading the way with 24 points, Portland withstood Milwaukee’s late comeback to win a Victory 119-116 about Lillard and the Bucks.

Lillard, who spent 11 seasons with the Blazers and still has a home in Portland, played his first game in the city since the change of low season that sent him to the Bucks.

The sold-out crowd at the Moda Center greeted Lillard with cheers. He responded by applauding the fans and raising his hands in a heart shape before his Bucks teammates danced around him.

In a pregame press conference, Lillard said his return was surreal.

“Even though I knew I was coming here as a visitor, once I got home and took my son to school this morning, it was almost like you forgot this is a road game,” he told more than three dozen reporters. .

Lillard said he spoke that morning with former teammate CJ McCollum, who played nine seasons with the Blazers before he left. changed to New Orleans in 2022.

“He called me and said, ‘Hey, hug him.’ It’s going to be emotional. We dedicate our time and our work. We had moments and there were many years in which we gave everything we had and were appreciated.” When he came back, he said, ‘It was that moment, I felt the appreciation for everything we put into it,’” Lillard said.

Lillard, an eight-time All-Star, averaged 32.2 points with the Blazers last season.. He became just the seventh player in NBA history to score more than 70 points in a game (that number has since increased to nine) when finished with 71 against the Houston Rockets last February. He averaged 25.2 points, 4.2 rebounds and 6.7 assists during his time with the Blazers.

But Portland won only four playoff series during Lillard’s tenure, reaching the Western Conference Finals only once. The team went 33-49 last season, the second straight year it finished well outside the playoff picture.

With Milwaukee, Lillard arrived averaging 25.1 points and 6.8 assists. Last week, Milwaukee fired coach Adrian Griffin after only 43 games and hired veteran Doc Rivers to take over with another NBA title in mind.

Lillard said it’s been great to be part of a team that “has tasted victory and wants to get back to that.”

“Playing with Giannis (Antetokounmpo) has been great. “I think playing with 75 other top players, two-time MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, Finals MVP, I can feel what a luxury it is to have a guy as dominant as him on the court,” Lillard . saying.

I wouldn’t rule out a possible return to the Blazers one day.

“I think because of how I feel about Portland, how I feel about the organization here, the time I’ve spent here, in my mind I’ve always felt like this is how I would end my career,” he said. “Right now I’m in the space of, this is where I am now. I’m in Milwaukee. “I want a chance to compete, and our team has a chance to compete for years to come.”



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