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PORTLAND -- The Portland Trail Blazers had their 2020-21 season come to an end with a 126-115 loss to the Denver Nuggets in Game 6 of their first round playoff series in front of a crowd of 10,022 Thursday night at Moda Center.

“I thought we played hard. In the playoffs, everybody plays hard,” said Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts. “It’s disappointing to lose in the playoffs. There’s no question about that. Denver is a good team. Jokic is a great player and everything goes around him, but I couldn’t be more proud of what we did to get ourselves in the position to be the six-seed. Obviously I’m very disappointed with the outcome.”

With the win, the three-seed Nuggets take the series 4-2 and will move on to play the winner of the series between the two-seed Suns and the seven-seed Lakers. And with the loss, the Trail Blazers have been eliminated in the first round of the Western Conference Playoffs for the second straight season.

“My only concern was making the playoffs and making a strong push,” said Damian Lillard. “To come up short and for our season to end on our home floor is disappointing, that’s as far as I am with it right now. I’m not really thinking about the other stuff, we’ll see what happens but I haven’t even thought that far out.”

Up 14 with less than five minutes to play in the third quarter, it seemed as if the Trail Blazers were destined to win Game 6 to force a Game 7 in Denver. They had managed to mostly hold Nuggets center Nikola Jokic in check, the guards were scoring inside the paint and behind the three-point line and Jusuf Nurkic, despite picking up two fouls early in the third quarter, could still play aggressively on both ends of the floor.

But Nurkic would foul Jokic on a three-point attempt with three minutes to play in the third, giving him his third foul. A few minutes later, Nurkic would pick up an offensive foul for his fourth foul of the quarter, sending the center to the bench.

And in the meantime, Denver outscored Portland 14-2 to cut the lead to 101-98 going into the fourth. After the Nuggets scored the first four points of the fourth to take the lead, Carmelo Anthony responded with five-straight to take the advantage back. But in what would be effectively the end of Portland’s season, the Nuggets went on a 15-2 run to take a 119-108 lead with 3:20 to play.

And unlike in Game 5, there would be no heroic comeback to force overtime. The Nuggets would limit Lillard’s attempts, and with 30 seconds to play in their season, Portland’s starters would be subbed out for the bench for one last time.

“I think we scored 14 points in the fourth quarter, so we didn’t make shots,” said CJ McCollum. “I think they just did a good job at moving the ball. And a good job at forcing us into tough contested shots. We missed some shots we normally make as well. Credit them. They played a great series and played a great game.”

Lillard finished with 28 points on 8-of-20 shooting from the field, 3-of-11 shooting from three and 9-of-9 shooting from the lien to go with 13 assists, four rebounds and two steals in 43 minutes.

McCollum went 9-of-21 for 21 points, four rebounds and three assists. Norman Powell added 17 points and four rebounds. Robert Covington finished with a double-double of 11 points, 10 rebounds and Nurkic added 13 points and seven rebounds in 33 minutes.

Anthony added 14 points, five rebounds and four assists off the bench.

Jokic led all scorers with 36 points to go with eight rebounds and six assists. Michael Porter Jr. scored 22 of his 26 points in the first quarter and Monte Morris nearly outscored Portland’s bench on his own, going 8-of-16 from the4 field and 3-of-6 from three for 22 points in 33 minutes.

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Trail Blazers Season Ends With Game 6 Loss At Home

Trail Blazers 115, Nuggets 126 | McDonalds Game 6 Highlights

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Damian Lillard (28 PTS, 13 AST) Game 6 Highlights vs. Denver

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NEW YORK, June 3, 2021 – NBA players have selected Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard as the recipient of the 2020-21 Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year Award, the NBA announced today.

Presented annually since the 2012-13 season, the award recognizes the player deemed the best teammate based on selfless play, on- and off-court leadership as a mentor and role model to other NBA players, and commitment and dedication to team.

A panel of league executives selected 12 nominees (six from each conference) for the Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year Award. Current NBA players selected the winner from the list of 12 nominees, with more than 300 players submitting their votes through confidential balloting conducted by the league office.

In addition to Lillard, the nominees were Indiana Pacers guard Malcolm Brogdon, Brooklyn Nets forward Joe Harris, Philadelphia 76ers forward Tobias Harris, Miami Heat forward Udonis Haslem, Utah Jazz forward Joe Ingles, Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry, Dallas Mavericks center Boban Marjanović, Denver Nuggets forward Paul Millsap, Phoenix Suns guard Chris Paul, New York Knicks guard Theo Pinson and Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns.

Lillard received 40 of 303 first-place votes and earned 1,012 total points in balloting of NBA players. Paul finished in second place with 1,001 points. Players were awarded 10 points for each first-place vote, seven points for each second-place vote, five points for each third-place vote, three points for each fourth-place vote and one point for each fifth-place vote.

A nine-year NBA veteran, Lillard averaged 28.8 points, 7.5 assists and 4.2 rebounds in 67 games this season. The 6-2 guard was selected as an NBA All-Star for the fourth consecutive season and the sixth time overall. He helped lead the Trail Blazers to their eighth straight playoff appearance, the longest active streak in the NBA. Lillard, 30, has played his entire NBA career with the Trail Blazers, who selected him with the sixth overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft.

This season, Lillard received the April NBA Cares Community Assist Award presented by Kaiser Permanente for his continued efforts to empower young people across Portland, marking the third time he has earned the monthly Community Assist Award. Two years ago, Lillard won the 2018-19 J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award, as administered and selected by the Professional Basketball Writers Association, for his outstanding service and dedication to the community. 2

The Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year Award is named for Jack Twyman and Maurice Stokes, whose storied friendship transcended their Hall of Fame accomplishments. Twyman and Stokes were teammates on the Rochester/Cincinnati Royals from 1955-58. In the last game of the 1957-58 regular season, Stokes sustained an injury that led to his falling into a coma days later and becoming permanently paralyzed. He was diagnosed with post-traumatic encephalopathy, a brain injury that damaged his motor-control center. Stokes was supported for the rest of his life by Twyman, who became his legal guardian and advocate.

Twyman helped organize the NBA’s Maurice Stokes Memorial Basketball Game, which raised funds for Stokes’ medical care and, after Stokes’ death in 1970 at age 36, for other players in need. In 2004, after years of lobbying by Twyman, Stokes was enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Twyman, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1983, died in 2012.

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Damian Lillard Wins 2020-21 Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year Award

In the end, Denver got the Game 5 win in a double overtime instant classic, but it was Damian Lillard's heroics that had social media buzzing well into the early morning hours. Lillard was a trending topic on Twitter as the game went into its first overtime, and by Wednesday morning the site had seen hundreds of thousands of users share their reactions to his performance. Below find a selection of some of the reactions from around the sports world.

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NBA Twitter reacts to Damian Lillard's 55-point performance in Game 5

Damian Lillard (37 points) Highlights vs. Denver Nuggets

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Starting the seeding games in Orlando 3.5 games out of top eight in the West, the Trail Blazers had to treat their eight-game schedule, as well as a play-in game versus the Memphis Grizzlies, like playoff games. They’re hoping that experience, which ultimately resulted in securing the eight-seed, has prepared them for what’s next.

“I think the nine games that we’ve had here in Orlando, they’ve prepared us for the playoffs,” said Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts. “We had to play at a high level, both mentally and physically, to get to where we are right now, so I think that prepared us. There are other teams that were obviously secure with the playoff spot, so they approached Orlando differently than us. We’re hopeful that how we got here will help us in the future.”

That future is now, as the Trail Blazers will face the Los Angeles Lakers in the one-eight matchup of the first round of the 2020 Western Conference Playoffs Thursday night at AdventHealthArena on the ESPN Wide World of Sports campus.

“I think it’s going to be a tough series regardless,” said Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard. “They’ve got great players, obviously. They’re the number one seed in the West, obviously. It’s going to be tough. I think the thing that we have on our side is the fact that we had to be on edge since we’ve been here. Every game that we’ve played has been down to the wire, we’ve had to win close games, we’ve had to execute down the stretch, we’ve had to come up with stops. We’ve kind of been prepared for playoff basketball for the last two or three weeks in every single game. I think we have that going for us going into the series.”

Tipoff is scheduled for Tuesday at 6 p.m.

REGULAR SEASON ALL TIME: Lakers lead, 122-108IN PORTLAND: Trail Blazers lead, 70-45AT THE LAKERS: Lakers lead, 77-38PLAYOFFS ALL TIME: Lakers lead, 32-16IN PORTLAND: Trail Blazers lead, 11-10AT THE LAKERS: Lakers lead, 22-5

• The Lakers won the season series in 2019-20, 2-1.

• In three games against the Lakers this season, Damian Lillard averaged 36.0 points (50.8% FG, 39.4% 3-PT, 87.9% FT), 6.0 rebounds and 9.0 assists. Lillard scored 48 points (17-30 FG, 7-12 3-PT, 7-8 FT) to go with nine rebounds, 10 assists and two steals in Portland's 127-119 victory in Los Angeles on Jan. 31.

• CJ McCollum averaged 17.3 points (41.2% FG, 29.2% 3-PT, 75.0% FT), 3.7 assists and 4.7 rebounds in three games against Los Angeles this season.

• In two games against the Lakers this season, Carmelo Anthony averaged 14.0 points (33.3% FG, 40.0% 3-PT, 88.9% FT), 4.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists.

• LeBron James averaged 24.7 points (45.0% FG, 38.1% 3-PT, 63.2% FT), 7.3 rebounds and 11.3 assists in three games against the Trail Blazers this season.

• In three games against Portland this season, Anthony Davis averaged 32.0 points (55.9% FG, 40.0% 3-PT, 82.8% FT), 11.3 re- bounds, 4.3 assists and 2.67 blocks. He had 37 points, 16 rebounds, six assists and five blocks against the Trail Blazers on Jan. 31.

• Portland and Los Angeles have played in the first round on six other occasions. The Trail Blazers beat the Lakers in the first round of the 1992 Playoffs on their way to an NBA Finals meeting with the Chicago Bulls. The Lakers won the other five first round meetings between the teams.

• The Trail Blazers and the Lakers are meeting in the postseason for the 12th time. Portland has advanced twice past the Lakers, while Los Angeles has won the other 10 series. The Trail Blazers other first win over the Lakers came in the 1977 Western Conference Finals, propelling Portland to a NBA Finals victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.

• The Trail Blazers and Lakers last played each other in the postseason in the first round of the 2002 Playoffs. Portland's leading scorer that series was Rasheed Wallace while the Lakers were led by Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal. Current Lakers forward LeBron James was 14 months away from being drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers while Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard was 11 years old.

• Portland and Los Angeles played met in the playoffs five times between 1997 and 2002.

• Portland is 5-16 all-time against Los Angles in the first round.

• Los Angeles forward LeBron James and Portland forward Carmelo Anthony were the first and third picks of the 2003 NBA Draft. Along with Kyle Korver of the Milwaukee Bucks, they are the only active players remaining from their draft class.

• Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard (sixth) and Lakers forward Anthony Davis (first) were both lottery picks in the 2012 NBA Draft.

• Trail Blazers forward Trevor Ariza won the NBA Championship with the Lakers in 2009.

Zach Collins (left ankle inflammation) and Nassir Little (dehydration recovery) are out. CJ McCollum (vertebral fracture) is available for Tuesday's game. Rodney Hood (left ruptured Achilles tendon) is not with the team in Orlando and will not participate in any scrimmages nor games the rest of the season. Trevor Ariza (personal reasons) and Caleb Swanigan (personal reasons) are not with the team and will not play in Orlando.

For the Lakers, Anthony Davis (right knee; soreness) and LeBron James (right groin; soreness) are probable while Rajon Rondo (right thumb; surgery) is doubtful.

Tuesday’s game can be seen only on NBC Sports Northwest with Jordan Kent, Lamar Hurd and Brooke Olzendam calling the action. The game will also air on TNT. Travis Demers and Michael Holton will have the call on Rip City Radio 620 AM and on all of the stations on the Deschutes Brewery Trail Blazers Radio Network.

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After Earning Eight-Seed, Trail Blazers Face Lakers In First Round Of 2020 Playoffs

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