How Lillard’s Accidental Trash Talk Sparked Steph’s 62-Point Game originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Even some of the greatest shooters get the ball handed to them, and that’s exactly what happened to Damian Lillard, eight-time NBA All-Star during the 2020-21 season.
And like many others in the league, it came at the hands of Steph Curry, Warriors superstar.
Before joining Giannis Antetokounmpo in Milwaukee, Lillard spent the first 11 seasons of his career with the Portland Trail Blazers, including at least three games with his hometown team in the Bay Area.
Although Lillard’s returns are usually special, he explained on the “Get Got Pod with Marshawn Lynch and Mike Robinson” how a visit to San Francisco was to be forgotten.
“Three years ago, it was after the Warriors had a lot of injuries, and it was after they won their first two championships and they were struggling,” Lillard said. “People were double-teaming Steph, triple-teaming Steph. We played them twice in a row in San Francisco. So we played them the first time and we beat them. We did the same thing as the other teams. ) to Steph, we were double teaming, changing And (the media) was saying, “Lady, teams are paying a lot of attention to Steph, they’re fouling her.
“And I was like, ‘Yeah, I know how he feels because when my team was down, we were struggling, and they didn’t respect the person I was on the field with at the time- There they kept me like that.’ And I was like, over the years, Steph played with a lot of veterans, they knew how to get him the ball, they knew how to get him open, they knew how to play, I said, but now he sees something different. because it’s different now.
But the way it was interpreted and relayed by the media was not what Lillard thought.
However, whether Curry knew it or not, he responded the only way he knew how.
“And they took it and spun it around like I was saying, ‘Now you see how it is, now he’s going to see if he can still do it.’ But really, I fuck with Steph, I would never say weird shit about Steph, I wouldn’t do it for anyone, but definitely not for him because I respect him. So having said that, we do. I’m going to play them again two days later and Steph comes out and he shoots every time, he’s obviously a competitor, so I’m going to try to hit him like he’s going to try and he’s shooting, shooting, shooting And Steph is like. to not announce like “I heard what you said” or “You said this, you said that”, he’ll just come out – he’s a real contender.
“So he comes out and he hits 3 after 3 after 3. And my first thought is I don’t care. I didn’t mean it like that and I don’t care if you try to make a statement because you thought I thought it that way. That’s how it ended up being 62. He ran around celebrating so after the game I shook his hand and we had my ass.’ My comments weren’t even a chance at all, but I definitely had that day.”
Hey, Lady, it happens to the best of them.
Luckily for him, he’s now in the Eastern Conference and only has to face Curry in the Bay once a season. And now he’s probably learned to choose his words more carefully.
