The Trail Blazers extended their current winning streak to four games after Sunday’s victory over the Mavericks. In Dallas, the Blazers faced a noteworthy challenge from uneven officiating in the first half. After the game, Damian Lillard spoke with Trail Blazers digital reporter Casey Holdahl about those struggles.
Lillard explained to Holdahl that it felt like every call was going against the Blazers in the first half.
“We just felt like it was a really unfortunate first half for us,” said Damian Lillard. “We came out playing well to start the game but then it just seemed like we just couldn’t do anything right. Everything was foul here, foul there. And then we going down and we felt like we weren’t getting the whistle. It was like ‘Alright, now what?’”
Following a frustration-induced technical foul and the break at halftime, Lillard highlighted how the Blazers’ shifted their mentality in the second half.
“So we came out the locker room and it was like, we’re not going to complain, we not gonna come out here and act like something is being taken away from us,” said Lillard. “If we’re gonna win this game we’ve got to go take it. I think that was the energy that we had to start the second half and that ultimately what changed the game and won us the game.”
Lillard would go on to score 23 of his 34 points in the second half. Thanks to his late-game heroics, the Blazers maintained their slim lead in the game’s final moments.
You can read the full story from Holdahl by clicking here.
