By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
A few hours after being named bubble MVP, Damian Lillard stepped up once again for Portland Trail Blazers, leading the team to the first round of the playoffs with a 126-122 victory against Memphis Grizzlies, in the Western Conference play-in.
Lillard posted a game-high performance with 31 points, 10 rebounds to lead Portland to this victory. Jusuf Nurkic, who lost his grandmother to COVID-19 Saturday stepped into the game with a heavy heart, though produced a big-time performance of his own with 22 points, 21 rebounds, and six assists.
“I didn’t want to play,” Nurkic said after the game. “I think she made me play.”
“Obviously, it’s emotional,” Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. “I couldn’t be more proud of him; as it’s very difficult, been hanging over his head for a while. There was never talk of not playing.
Jonas Valanciunas was among the top scorers for the Grizzlies that exit the bubble with a 3-7 record, with a double-double performance of 17 points, 11 rebounds.
The Blazers will now face Los Angeles Lakers, in the first round of the 2020 NBA playoffs.