Why Lillard's perfect ending was only the beginning of a wild weekend

In a couple of absolutely crazy weeks for the NBA to open the 2014 playoffs, it seemed a fitting ending. Damian Lillard buries a game-winning, series-ending, three-pointer at the buzzer to give Portland its first series win in 14 years, sending Houston packing in the process. Then he grabs the Moda Center’s PA microphone, yells “RIP CITY!” at the top of his lungs, and walks off the court as Aloe Blacc’s ‘The Man’ plays in the background – all the while clutching the game ball.

And yet, on a night when the Mavericks forced a Game 7 against the No. 1 overall seeded Spurs in a crazy finish of their own that involved San Antonio using six players on the court, and on a night when the Nets took care of business in Brooklyn to force the first ever Game 7 north of the border, Lillard’s entry into Trail Blazers lore - which our minds will be able to replay in slow motion for generations, from his losing Chandler Parsons, to the clapping of his hands as he asked for the ball, to the breathless release - was no ending, but rather a beginning to a weekend that promises to be a special one for the NBA.

For the first time ever, the first round of the NBA playoffs has produced five Game 7’s. For the first time ever, three Game 7’s will be played on one day, as the Pacers, Hawks, Thunder, Grizzlies, Clippers and Warriors all take the court tonight in the most highly anticipated triple-header in league history.

The Raptors, Nets, Spurs and Mavericks will then conclude this epic first round with a double-header on Sunday afternoon, and there are almost too many storylines to keep track of.

Both 1 vs. 8 matchups are going the distance. The Pacers are looking to avoid one of the worst overall season collapses in NBA history. Kevin Durant will look to add to his legendary season against the Randolph-less Grizzlies. The Clippers continue their quest to distance themselves from the Donald Sterling scandal while continuing their championship pursuit in a do-or-die setting. The Warriors have one of the most dangerous players in the game in a one-off situation in Stephen Curry. The Raptors will look for the franchise’s first series win in 13 years and first ever in a best-of-seven situation in the first Game 7 off of American soil. The Nets are one win away from that highly anticipated matchup with the Heat, who they went 4-0 against this season. And Dirk Nowitzki will try to conjure up some last bit of playoff magic against a Spurs team that just tasted Game 7 defeat in last year’s Finals.

Throw in the fact that we’ve already seen eight overtime games and 21 games decided by five points or less through the postseason’s first two weeks, and expecting anything other than nail biting madness this weekend is foolish.

Lillard’s series winning three - which followed a Rockets go-ahead bucket that left only nine-tenths of a second on the clock, no less – will likely go down as the most memorable moment from a historic first round. But anyone who’s paid attention these last two weeks knows better than to see it as some sort of storybook ending. It was merely the beginning of a weekend of hoops we can’t even fathom.