Damian Lillard notched another win against his on-court rival Russell Westbrook on Wednesday night, as the Portland Trail Blazers walked out of Houston with a 117-107 victory. That’s even more impressive when you consider that Westbrook is “impossible” to guard.
The Rockets’ point guard was heard jawing at Dame after drawing a foul midway through the fourth quarter, “A foul is a bucket. Can’t guard me. Impossible.” As seen in the footage embedded below, that viral moment occurred while the Rockets were down by double digits.
Westbrook did finish with a triple-double, posting a game-high 31 points with 12 assists and 11 rebounds, but his efforts weren’t enough to lift his team to victory. Lillard, meanwhile, paced Portland with 25 points, seven rebounds and seven assists in the win.
Following the victory, Lillard offered up a perfect three-letter response to Westbrook’s fourth quarter trash talk.
The two All-NBA point guards have had their share of battles over the years, most notably during the opening round of last year’s playoffs. As we know, Lillard won that battle, and the war, as the Blazers eliminated OKC from the post-season thanks to Dame’s iconic 37-foot game-winner in Game 5.
Despite the on-court feud and the jabs on social media, Lillard insists that he and Westbrook are “really cool off the court.” During an appearance on The Dan Patrick Show following their playoff series, Dame explained, “Me and Russ are really cool off of the court. But when we get on the court, I don’t expect anything else from him and he doesn’t expect anything else from me. There’s no dislike.”