Lillard’s Final Shot was Boosted by Familiar Encouragement

The Trail Blazers secured a thrilling 125-124 victory over the Pelicans thanks to a 50-point outing from star guard Damian Lillard. Tuesday’s win also featured the return of CJ McCollum to the lineup. After the game, both players talked about the importance of getting back into a familiar rhythm.

NBC Sports Northwest’s Jamie Hudson highlighted Lillard’s comments on McCollum’s return. According to Lillard, McCollum’s encouraging words provided a slight boost as the crunch time arrived.

“CJ just tapped me on my back, like, ‘go win it, just make sure you go win it.’ And I got to my spot and drew a foul and that was game.”

For McCollum, he explained that he never had a doubt once Portland regained possession late in the game.

“I knew if we got the ball back, that he was going to win it and he did it.”

McCollum notched 10 points in 26 minutes of action in his return to the floor. Moving forward, the former Lehigh star talked about returning to his pre-injury form.

“The rhythm is coming. It’s not here, but it’s coming slowly, but surely. I was just happy to play basketball after a couple months off.”

You can read the full post from Hudson at NBC Sports Northwest.