Back in mid-February, the Sixers made a stop in Portland on a West Coast swing. The two teams gave a national television audience an entertaining game that night. And with one minute left and the Blazers holding a 114-111 lead, everyone watching knew who would have the ball. It was Dame Time.
Ben Simmons had other ideas. Damian Lillard tried to nurse the clock and perform his usual late-game wizardry, but for one night, Simmons wouldn’t let him. As the clock wound down under a minute, Simmons was harassing Lillard as he crossed the timeline, eventually poking the ball into the backcourt and forcing Portland’s star to retrieve it. Lillard was not going to be able to run clock by simply pounding the ball.
On that very same possession,
