Lillard buries deep 3-pointer at buzzer to eliminate Thunder

Damian Lillard called series Tuesday night.

The four-time All-Star buried a deep 3-pointer over Paul George's outstretched arm as time expired to give the Portland Trail Blazers a 118-115 Game 5 victory and eliminate the Oklahoma City Thunder from the NBA playoffs.

That clutch bucket gave Lillard a postseason career-high 50 points on 17-of-33 shooting from the field and a franchise-best 10-of-18 from behind the arc. He also registered seven rebounds, six assists, and three steals in 45 minutes of action.

"There's been a lot of back-and-forth, a lot of talk and all this stuff. That was the last word. That was having the last word," said Lillard of his shot, according to the Washington Post's Ben Golliver.

Lillard joins Bob Cousy, Bob Pettit, Wilt Chamberlain, Sam Jones, Michael Jordan, and Charles Barkley as the only players to score 50 or more points in a series-clinching win.

This wasn't a first for the point guard. In the opening round of the 2014 playoffs, Lillard drilled a buzzer-beating 3-pointer with 0.9 seconds remaining in Game 6 to eliminate the Houston Rockets.

The Blazers now advance to the second round for the first time since 2016 after getting swept in each of the last two postseasons. They'll face either the Denver Nuggets or San Antonio Spurs.