LOS ANGELES — Damian Lillard was enraged in the third quarter Friday night. He felt the Los Angeles Lakers were getting away with routinely roughing him up. And to make matters worse, he received a technical for his complaints to officials.
This was what ignited the tear.
With less than five minutes remaining in the third quarter, Lillard brought the ball up the floor with Avery Bradley, arguably the Lakers’ best on-ball perimeter defender, snuggly in his space. Lillard drove left toward Hassan Whiteside, who was waiting to set a screen.
Once Lillard used the pick, he stopped on a dime and raised up for a triple, and Bradley crashed into the back of him as he drew the foul and swished the 3-pointer to the chagrin of the sold-out Staples Center crowd.