Portland Trail Blazers’ Damian Lillard sets record after fan heckles
By Dave Daniels
Damian Lillard has put fans of the NBA on notice if they ever decide to heckle him.
Damian Lillard has already proven himself to be one of the top point guards in the NBA. But a fan on Thursday night decided to poke the bear, and it didn’t end well for the Orlando Magic as a result.
Lillard had a tough first half against the Magic, but the fan inspired him to drop a franchise record 34 points in the second half.
The man was behind Orlando’s bench, and he was so annoying during the first half that Lillard hit a layup before the buzzer to end the second quarter. That momentum allowed the point guard to put on an absolute show in the second half.
“He just kept hollering my name,” Lillard said to Oregon Live. “‘Oh, he don’t want to play tonight. He ain’t that good.’ The whole first half, he just wouldn’t shut up. And I got tired of it. I told him at the end of the second quarter, ‘We’re going to see.’ And he kept on talking. And we saw.”
The Magic might want this fan to keep it down in the future, especially if they want any chance of making the playoffs.
Lillard missed six out of his first seven shots, but he finished things out in style with 41 points, seven rebounds and six assists in a 128-114 victory. He also asked the fan “what happened?” at the end of the game. The man behind the bench had apparently run out of things to say at that point.
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Postseason success has eluded Lillard and the Blazers, and it might be time to make a trade if they don’t progress this year. They are currently 3-1 with wins against the Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio Spurs and Magic. If they want to keep their march to the playoffs going, then maybe the Blazers should hire a heckler to travel with the team. We’ve now seen the result when you tick off a player of Lillard’s caliber.