Throughout his career with the Trail Blazers, point guard Damian Lillard has made a habit of turning in some of his best performances when playing in Los Angeles. That trend evidently carries over into All-Star games.
The 6-3 point guard out of Weber State, playing in his third All-Star game, tied for a team-high in scoring with 21 points on 9-14 shooting shooting from the field and 3-of-8 shooting from three to go with three rebounds and two assists in 21 minutes as a reserve for “Team Stephen,” which fell 148-145 to "Team LeBron" in front of a sellout crowd of 17,801 Sunday night at the 2018 All-Star Game at Staples Center.
"It was a lot of fun," said Lillard. "Obviously the teams was mixed up, not East and West. Got to interact and play with some guys from the Eastern Conference which we never had a chance to do, so I thought that was really cool. The game was really competitive. It really felt good to be out there playing in a game like this instead of guys just letting people score 200 points and all that stuff, so it was a fun game."
Lillard’s 21 points trail only Clyde Drexler, who scored 22 points in the 1992 All-Star Game in Orlando, for most points by a Trail Blazer in an All-Star game. He is also now 1-2 in NBA All-Star games.
After checking in for the first time Sunday night with 5:45 to play in the first quarter, Lillard posted his first positive statistic, an assist to Karl-Anthony Towns, with 3:05 to play in the quarter. Less than a minute later, he would net his first points of the game on an 18-footer after grabbing an offensive rebound with just over two minutes to play in the first quarter.
Lillard would only play three minutes and 51 seconds in the second quarter, though that was enough time for him to hit his first three-pointer, a 31-footer taken well behind the 2018 NBA All-Star Game logo, with 10:46 to play in the first half. He’d exit the game at the 8:09 mark and did not return before the end of the half.
But after coming off the bench to start the game, Lillard got the start in the second half. He responded by going 3-of-4 from the field and 1-of-2 from three for seven points and an assist in just under six minutes to increase his total to 14 points going into the fourth.
"I took the advice of Kobe (Bryant) in my first All-Star game. He said 'When you get out there, shoot it every time,'" said Lillard. "I saw that I was getting more minutes and I played earlier than I had in my first two (All-Star) games, so I didn't want to go out there and just be ball-hogging, but I wanted to be aggressive. I was able to have a decent game."
Lillard played roughly five minutes at the start of the fourth quarter but did not return to the game, despite Team Stephen needing a three-pointer to tie the game on the final possession and Lillard being a game-best +18, after subbing out with 6:31 to play.
But even though he didn't have a chance to play in the deciding moments, Lillard said he was happy with the way his 2018 All-Star Weekend went. He played more nearly as many minutes Sunday night as his first two All-Star games combined, got the second-most fan votes for MVP (which ultimately went to James) and proved yet again that he truly belongs among the NBA's elite.
"It was cool. I've been telling people all weekend, there's just a different vibe to my time here than my first two," said Lillard. "Little older, a little more mature, I think the respect of my peers has gone up since then. And the coaches, it felt good to be out there starting the second half. It's something that you have to earn and I'm proud that, not only was I here for a third time, but I got to actually play. I got to get in a good rhythm."
Now Lillard will have a few days off before the Trail Blazers start the stretch run Friday night in Salt Lake City versus the Jazz. Tipoff for that game is scheduled for 6 p.m.