LOS ANGELES -- Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard put on a commanding performance in Friday night's 127-119 win over the Los Angeles Lakers, scoring 48 points, dishing out 11 assists and grabbing nine rebounds.
On the night the Lakers honored Kobe Bryant in the organization's first game since the former guard's death Sunday in a helicopter accident, it was Lillard who stole the on-court show. The All-Star guard went 22-for-32 from the field and 7-for-11 from beyond the arc.
The consistency in his recent performances led to a simple answer when he was asked after the game if he thinks this is the best stretch of his career.
"Yeah," he said. "I do."
Lillard's latest feat came only two days after he recorded his first career triple-double in Wednesday's win over the Houston Rockets, scoring 36 points, grabbing 10 rebounds and dishing out 11 assists. In his past five games, Lillard is averaging 48.4 points, 9.8 assists and 8.2 rebounds.
After this latest victory, Lillard acknowledged that the experience didn't feel like a win in the wake of Bryant's death and all the emotional tributes to him throughout the night.
"I don't think anybody feels like we walked away as a winner tonight, given the circumstances," Lillard said. "The memories that we'll take away from [the moment] are just sad. It was just tough. It was good that we had to compete, so being on the winning side is a positive, but I don't think anybody walks away from this moment and this situation a winner."
Lillard and the rest of his teammates stood on the Staples Center floor during the pregame remembrance of Bryant and the other eight victims of the crash. Lillard said it was a difficult environment for both teams, given the sadness around the city, but he thought both teams honored Bryant's spirit by playing hard in the face of adversity.
"It's tough from an emotional standpoint, but he's worthy, more than worthy," Lillard said of Bryant. "And that type of love and that type of respect and that type of honor that was given to him in the first game since [the accident] happened, it was only right. Compared to what his family has to deal with, his closest friends have to deal with, us having to honor him in that way and play a game is a small thing. I think for what we do in our careers, this is what we do. For him being arguably the toughest competitor to ever play the game, I felt like it was only right for us to pay our respect pregame and then go out there and honor him by competing at a higher level, and I thought both teams did that."
What made Lillard's performance even more impressive was that he did it without the help of forward Carmelo Anthony, who sat out because of personal reasons in the wake of Bryant's death.
"I was really proud of our team tonight," Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. "This was obviously a difficult game to play for everybody, for the Lakers and for us. First half took both teams a while to get into it, but I was really proud of our team. I don't know how many people gave us a chance to win this, but Damian Lillard continues to prove what a special player he is, what a special leader he is."
Lillard's play was great throughout the night, but it was the third quarter in which he really stepped up, scoring 23 points, hitting six 3-pointers and shooting 8-for-11 from the field.
"I knew it was going to be tough to come in here and pull a win out," Lillard said. "So I just wanted to come out and be aggressive and assertive in the third quarter because usually that's an opportunity to let the game get away from you. ... With the ability that they have, they can come out, jump on you in that third quarter and go up 18 or 20. And I just wanted to be assertive and be aggressive and try to impose my will on the game in that stretch and then just let it be a fourth-quarter game and see where it goes."
The Lakers held several emotional tributes throughout the game and played Bryant highlights throughout the night as fans repeatedly chanted "Kobe! Kobe!" As special as Lillard's play continues to be, it registered as almost an afterthought for him, given the larger emotions in play. As Lillard and the rest of his teammates and coaches tried to process the events of the night, it became even clearer to the Blazers' star how big an impact Bryant had on so many fans.
"Just how many people he touched," Lillard said. "I think the first thing we think about is the legend he was as a basketball player, but I think the impact is just so strong that you see the emotion out of so many different people for so many different reasons. That just stood out. The amount of respect that he had and what he left behind, I think, is just unbelievable."