The short-handed Portland Trail Blazers defeated the New York Knicks last night, 116-113. They were led by Damian Lillard, who stepped up in the absence of CJ McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic. It has been a long week for Lillard, who spent most of his time in the hospital for the birth of his twins.

But despite that, his commitment to the team has been incredible. During the post-game interview, Lillard mentioned how he has been practicing because the team needs him.

He said, “It’s been a long week. I haven’t slept in a long bit. Since Wednesday, I’ve been in the hospital on the couch with my family. But even then, leading up to the birth of my kids, I knew I didn’t wanna (miss). We already got CJ and Nurk out, so I didn’t wanna miss any time. Those canceled games came right on time, but I still made sure I was involved in practices and get working in so I could be prepared for these last two home games before we get on the road.”

Damian Lillard: One of the most committed players in the league

McCollum was leading the Blazers in scoring initially when Lillard had a slow start. After all these years of being labeled as All-Star caliber, McCollum was finally making a strong case to be part of the Game. But then he, unfortunately, suffered a fracture in his foot and will miss at least a month.

On the other hand, Nurkic suffered a wrist injury, which is going to force him to be on the sidelines for a longer time. So with two of the Blazers’ important starters out, there was no way Lillard was going to miss out. He may not have had enough sleep or rest, but that didn’t stop him.

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The Knicks currently have the best defense in the league, but Lillard tore down their fortress. He scored a mammoth 39 points while shooting 11-17 from the field and 6-10 from three. He also went a perfect 11-11 from the free-throw line and didn’t let the Knicks defense rest even for a second.

The Blazers now host the Thunder in their next game. It is an easier and also a back-to-back game, so they can afford to let Lillard sit out for a much-deserved rest.

Can the Portland Trail Blazers Survive Without CJ McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic?