Trail Blazers' Damian Lillard, Enes Kanter, Jusuf Nurkic send parting shots at Thunder

Jordan Greer

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Trail Blazers' Damian Lillard, Enes Kanter, Jusuf Nurkic send parting shots at Thunder image

The first-round series between the Trail Blazers and Thunder had more than just the typical postseason intensity. It got personal, especially between the team's two star point guards.

Portland's Damian Lillard and Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook gave NBA fans one of the best playoff battles and storylines in recent memory, and Lillard certainly provided the best playoff moment, ending the series Tuesday night with a Game 5 buzzer-beater over Thunder star Paul George. He then poured salt in the wound by waving his opponent off the floor.

MORE: The NBA world went crazy after Lillard's game-winning shot

Following the devastating loss, George said Lillard's bomb was a "bad shot." He probably meant that it was an attempt with a high degree of difficulty, and George would rather live with that shot than an easy drive to the basket, but the phrasing wasn't great.

Yeah, Lillard heard that.

That's not all. Lillard, who averaged 33.0 points and 6.0 assists per game in the series, sent a not-so-subtle shot at Westbrook on Wednesday with this Instagram post.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

On to the next...

A post shared by Damian Lillard (@damianlillard) on

Trail Blazers center Enes Kanter piled on by taking his own swipe at Thunder coach Billy Donovan. Back in 2017, when Kanter was on OKC's roster, Donovan appeared to say "can't play Kanter" after the Rockets continually targeted the big man in isolations and pick-and-roll plays.

Well, Kanter averaged nearly 30 minutes per game this time around, and he didn't forget about Donovan's comment.

And then there was Jusuf Nurkic, who is out for the season but made a surprise appearance on the bench at Game 5. Nurkic happened to be wearing a shirt with an interesting caption.

While Westbrook prepares to say "next question" at his exit interview, the Trail Blazers are saying "next series." To the victor go the spoils.

Jordan Greer

Jordan Greer Photo

Jordan Greer has been with The Sporting News since 2015. He previously worked for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He is a graduate of Westminster College and Syracuse University.