With 17.4 seconds left of a closer-than-expected game against the Brooklyn Nets, Damian Lillard stepped to the free throw line at the Moda Center to put the finishing touches on a Trail Blazers victory.
But as he went through a free throw shooting ritual he's done countless times, an unfamiliar chant began to echo around the arena.
"M-V-P! M-V-P! M-V-P!"
Lillard scored 15 points in the fourth quarter and 34 in the game to help the Blazers withstand a late Nets rally during a 112-104 victory before a sellout crowd. It was the fifth consecutive game Lillard has scored at least 30 points and he joined Geoff Petrie as the only players in franchise history to accomplish the feat.