Paul hit an unnecessary layup late, and Lillard let him know he wasn't happy about it. #RipCity pic.twitter.com/yV8F2Fo56u
— NBC Sports Northwest (@NBCSNorthwest) January 11, 2018
Jan. 11 (UPI) -- Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard let his feelings be known after watching Houston Rockets guard Chris Paul make a late layup.
He wasn't happy.
The Rockets held a 119-112 advantage on the Trail Blazers with about 16 seconds remaining in the game Wednesday at the Toyota Center in Houston. Instead of just dribbling out the clock, Paul sprinted in for an uncontested layup. On the resulting possession, the Rockets got a steal. Lillard walked up to the veteran guard and slapped at the ball while he was holding it in his hands. He also exchanged some words with Paul, before walking off the court and glancing his way.
"I just asked him, I said, 'What did you get out of that?'" Lillard said, according to The Oregonian. "He said, 'Y'all wasn't guarding.' But we got back. There was two guys back. We got back. He was sprinting the court to get the layup and CJ [McCollum] was chasing him. I just felt like in that situation, if you've got to do that to go get the layup, what's the point of it?"
"I think as far as sportsmanship goes and respect, if the roles were reversed, I don't think they would like it," Lillard said. "They had two guys up the floor. I think (Shabazz Napier) ran back, I ran back for that reason ... we get two guys back and he pretty much sprinted down the court to get the layup. CJ was chasing him. At that point, you just wonder, like, what is that going to do for you? What was you trying to get right there? And that's what I asked him."
Paul, the president of the NBA's players' association, was also given a technical foul in the fourth quarter. He addressed quick whistles -- and referee Scott Foster, specifically -- after the game.
"Some of them, you can [communicate] with," Paul said, according to ESPN. "You've just gotta figure out who you can and you can't. I got a tech tonight. I'm over there with [referee Courtney Kirkland] saying, 'That's Scott, that's Scott,' and I got a tech. That's history there. He the man. That's who they pay to see."
Houston won the game 121-112. Paul scored a season-high 37 points and had 11 assists. Lillard scored a team-high 29 points in the loss.
