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Before Wednesday's game, Lillard expounded on his issues with statues and monument. "I've always been scared of historic stuff like that. If I see statues of Jesus, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr. — all that stuff kind of gives me a funny feeling," Lillard said. USA Today

Portland Trail Blazers, Damian Lillard 

He has trouble pinpointing the exact time he fretted seeing statues and monuments but said the uneasy feeling was palpable during a visit to a wax museum two summers ago before his senior season at Weber State. "The last room was Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln — all these big-time historic people, and it looked just like them. Same size," he said. "They had music playing in the room to set the mood, and it just threw me off." "Ever since then, I'm done. Even at Lake Oswego (near Portland), I drive past the cemetery, and there's a statue of Jesus with his hands up. That even scared me. I don't mess with statues no more. "It's the idea that they're from so far back, and so big in our history. Just to see something that looks so close to them, it's weird. It freaks me out." USA Today

Portland Trail Blazers, Damian Lillard 

Lillard, who made three of four buzzer-beating chances in college, also said part of being a late-game stalwart is being OK with failure. His ability to overcome that fourth-quarter miss and excel in overtime validated his point. "In my mind, when I take the shot, I'm going to make it," Lillard said. "But I'm not afraid to miss it either. I've missed it before, so I can live with not making it. I think you've just got to be comfortable with yourself. For me, if I miss the shot, I don't think any less of myself. I feel like the next one is going to go in. You just have to be comfortable with who you are and be confident in yourself." Oregonian

Portland Trail Blazers, Damian Lillard 

In the closing seconds of a game the Trail Blazers were guaranteed to win, a rookie made a rookie mistake by sprinting down the court and dunking instead of cradling the ball and waiting for the final horn to sound. Oregonian

Portland Trail Blazers, Damian Lillard 

After Damian Lillard iced the Blazers’ 102-94 victory over the Bulls with a dunk with 1.9 seconds left, Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson bee-lined toward the rookie point guard at center court to express their displeasure. LaMarcus Aldridge and other Blazers prevented a post-game incident by intervening, but Lillard’s late-game display caused quite a commotion Sunday night at the Rose Garden. “I just told him he can’t do that,” Gibson said. “He didn’t say anything. He was making a scene out of nothing. He made the layup and me and Joakim just addressed it, like, ‘In the future, you have to be smarter. A lot of teams aren’t going to let you do that.’" Oregonian

Chicago Bulls, Portland Trail Blazers, LaMarcus Aldridge, Joakim Noah, Taj Gibson, Damian Lillard 

“When I caught the ball, I didn’t know what to do honestly,” Lillard said. “I was just like, ‘Man, I’m here by myself, I don’t know what to do.’ I didn’t mean no disrespect to them ... next time, I just know to dribble the ball out.” Oregonian

Portland Trail Blazers, Damian Lillard 

“You don’t do that and I think he knows better now,” Aldridge said. “I don’t think he’ll do it going forward. That’s not good basketball etiquette.” Oregonian

Portland Trail Blazers, LaMarcus Aldridge, Damian Lillard 

Wednesday was a milestone day for the Blazers' five rookies – their first official NBA paycheck. "It felt good," Lillard said. "But I always said (about) the financial part of being here, I felt better about it because I can help my family. I just want to hoop." Lillard, in fact, said he didn't buy himself a thing when the first check came in. "Nah. I didn't buy nothing," Lillard said. "I got my mom a car for her birthday, but that was about it." Oregonian

Portland Trail Blazers, Damian Lillard 

The Blazers have not lost three consecutive games during a single homestand at any point during his tenure, which dates to 2008-09. That it's only Nov. 12 and this fact is being mentioned is a bit foreboding. Focusing on the here and now, though, there was a lot not to like in this one, and it began early. The Blazers missed three jumpers and committed three turnovers in the first 2:38, allowing Atlanta to begin the game on a 9-0 run. "We put ourselves in a hole," Lillard told Blazersedge. "We're not the Miami Heat. We can't put ourselves in that position. We have to come out with energy, we have to play hard to give us a better chance to win." Blazers Edge

Portland Trail Blazers, Damian Lillard 

"In college, we were a lot less talented than an NBA team," he told Blazersedge. "[Starting well] was an absolute must for us. The level I played at, that's what it was really, really all about. I think we have that here but we've got to start putting it on the floor." Blazers Edge

Portland Trail Blazers, Damian Lillard 

In four games as a pro, the Blazers' point guard has faced Steve Nash, Russell Westbrook, Jeremy Lin and the speedy, underrated Darren Collison. On Thursday night, the national TV cameras will be focused on Lillard's matchup with Chris Paul and the Clippers. "That's what I expected," Lillard said in a phone interview with CBSSports.com. "I know my position is the toughest in the league and there's going to be rough nights. I understand that. But my mindset is to come in and attack the games and try to be aggressive and try to make it tough for them -- not lay down to them." CBSSports.com

Portland Trail Blazers, Damian Lillard 

"I've heard people say that we're not a playoff team and we're rebuilding and we're young," Lillard said. "But right now, we're competing and trying to win games. We can challenge people. We believe in ourselves. We haven't set out any goals -- like, we're going to make the playoffs or we're going to do this and that –- but we can challenge people." CBSSports.com

Portland Trail Blazers, Damian Lillard 

The Mavericks trapped him on pick-and-rolls and forced him to get the ball out of his hands. This is an adjustment that the Trail Blazers haven't seen yet, but they knew it was coming. "It was just a matter of time before teams started trapping me," Lillard said. "I didn't do a good job of getting the ball to my teammates quickly enough out of the double-teams. It's something I'll look at on the flight back home and see what adjustments I can make." CSNNW.com

Dallas Mavericks, Portland Trail Blazers, Damian Lillard 

Rookie point guard Damian Lillard impressed tonight, tallying a double-double -- 23 points and 10 assist. Lillard joined Hall-of-Famers Oscar Robertson and Isiah Thomas as the only players in NBA history with at least 20 points and 10 assist in their NBA debut. Following his stellar performance, Lillard was asked about the new company he's in. "It means I played a good game," Lillard said. We got 81 more games. I just want to try and be consistent and keep my level of play up to a level where I can help my team win games." CSNNW.com

Portland Trail Blazers, Isiah Thomas, Oscar Robertson, Damian Lillard 

Bill Oram: Blazers PG Damian Lillard will attend Weber St.'s purple-and-white scrimmage tonight in Ogden. Blazers v. Jazz tomorrow night. Twitter @tribjazz

Portland Trail Blazers, Damian Lillard 

Gina Johnson plays the role of Lillard's personal manager, chef, housekeeper, voice of reason and more while living with her son during his rookie year in Portland. Her mission: To allow her son to concentrate solely on his NBA Rookie of the Year potential. Meanwhile, she'll take care of everything else. "I wash his clothes. I cook his food. I handle whatever deals he needs to handle," Johnson said. "Anything. Everything. He doesn't do anything but go to practice. That's all he does. That's it." Yahoo! Sports

Portland Trail Blazers, Damian Lillard 

It's common for an NBA rookie's mom or close family member to live with him his first season. Such moves are typically reserved for players drafted after going pro following one or two years of college, not after four years away at school. But Lillard's agent, Aaron Goodwin, suggested that Johnson move in the first season to aid her son's NBA transition. Yahoo! Sports

Portland Trail Blazers, Damian Lillard 

As Lillard talked to the media after a 117-100 preseason loss to the Sacramento Kings on Monday, Johnson asked Blazers director of player programs Hersey Hawkins for information on a good handyman to fix things in the house. "She's not treating me like a little kid," Lillard said. "But she speaks her mind to me about what she feels is right or wrong. She'll say, 'You need to get some rest. You got practice tomorrow. You got games. It's a long season.' "I really take in the advice she gives me. It's helped me my whole life so I figured I should continue that." Yahoo! Sports

Portland Trail Blazers, Damian Lillard 

Chris Haynes: Kings head coach Keith Smart say he & Stotts are good friends. Says he's noticed how happy Stotts is having someone like Damian Lillard. Twitter @ChrisBHaynes

Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings, Coaching, Keith Smart, Damian Lillard, Terry Stotts 

Chris Haynes: Lakers G Steve Nash says he likes @Damian Lillard's poise out on the court. Says he can be a special player in this league. #Blazers Twitter @ChrisBHaynes

Los Angeles Lakers, Portland Trail Blazers, Steve Nash, Damian Lillard