Lillard on Blazers’ Regular Season, “We Find a Way”

The Trail Blazers put together a wire-to-wire victory over the Nuggets to conclude the 2020-21 regular season. That win pushed Portland’s record to 42-30, a far cry from the direction that coach Terry Stotts’ squad was trending towards during an abysmal stretch of results in April.

After Sunday’s game, The Oregonian’s Aaron Fentress highlighted Damian Lillard’s comments regarding the Blazers’ resolve.

“I think there is something to be said about our effort, year after year after year, regardless of what the circumstances are,” Lillard said. “Regardless of the adversity we run into, at whatever point in the season, we find a way.

“It’s what we do. We find a way to give ourselves a chance at the postseason. And eight years straight is proof of that.”

Coach Stotts also detailed the hurdles that the Blazers faced in the condensed 2020-21 season.

“This might be, probably one of the bigger accomplishments in a regular season,” Stotts said, reflecting on his nine seasons with Portland. “The fact that Nurk missed half the season, CJ missed a third of the season. There were a lot of highs and lows, riding through some tough times. I thought what we accomplished is pretty gratifying because it was not an easy season.”

Lillard put a bow on his 2020-21 regular season with a double-double performance against the Nuggets. In 31 minutes, he recorded 22 points and 10 assists.

The Blazers enter the 2021 NBA Playoffs in the No. 6 spot in the Western Conference. The Nuggets will host the Blazers once the first round gets underway.