Damian Lillard Stresses Results and Process After Blazers' Close-Fought Win Over Wolves

Portland hardly played its best game of the season against Minnesota, but Damian Lillard knows the value of a win.

If the Trail Blazers' process looms just as large as results, you wouldn't have known it following their close-fought win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. 

Portland surged to an early double-digit lead on Saturday, easily exploiting a defense selling out to stop Damian Lillard. But the defensive breakdowns that were evident from the opening tip extended past halftime as the Blazers' offense cooled, giving the short-handed 'Wolves ample opportunity to steal a win late.

It didn't happen, as Lillard and Carmelo Anthony pulled their team to victory in crunch-time – an outcome the former stressed shouldn't be taken for granted.

"For us the most important thing is just pulling out a win," Lillard said. "I feel like a lesser team would have come in here and once we got in a dogfight like that, would have let it slip. It shows our growth and the difference in our team this year from last year where this might have been a game where we let it slip and we're going to the hotel pissed off, but we got it done."

The significance of Portland's victory in a stacked field of Western Conference playoff competitors can't be discounted. 

The Blazers currently sit at fifth in the standings, but are tied with the seventh-place San Antonio Spurs in the loss column. Remember, only teams with the six best records in each conference are guaranteed a playoff berth this season; the rest of the top-10 will duke it out for two remaining spots in the play-in tournament.

Portland would obviously rather have its postseason ticket punched outside the play-in. Even considering imminent returns of C.J. McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic, though, the Blazers' tough second-half schedule ensures there's a possibility they finish the regular season toward the back of the playoff race.

Key to avoiding that fate? Portland gaining a lasting sense of consistency that's been absent all too often since the season tipped off in December.

"We played well in stretches," Lillard said. "But I think something that we've struggled with all season long is being able to sustain that level of focus and that level of high-quality play."

McCollum and Nurkic will help in that regard, of course. But building and maintaining the habits, especially on defense, that will push the Blazers toward their peak is crucial every time they take the floor. 

We'll see if Portland better sustains that vital process against Minnesota on Sunday evening.

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