Portland fans show love for Damian Lillard in his return to the court with the Trail Blazers

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Damian Lillard is back, in more ways than one.

The star guard played his first regular-season game with the Trail Blazers since returning to Portland in the summer of 2025, scoring 25 points with six 3-pointers in a 124-83 rout of the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday night.

Lillard spent some 16 months rehabbing a torn Achilles tendon he sustained with the Milwaukee Bucks.

“I did feel good, but you know I've felt good for months now, and I've been saying that. But I think there's probably some people that might have been skeptical because they hadn't seen me. I hadn't been out on the floor and been in front of people," Lillard said.

The nine-time All-Star was greeted with an extended standing ovation at Moda Center when he welcomed the crowd in a pregame address. A beloved figure in Portland, he clearly was missed.

“It was a lot of love. The fans showed a lot of love,” Lillard said. “I think it's no secret the relationship between myself and our fans and the city of Portland.”

New addition Ja Morant, who finished with 14 points in his Trail Blazers debut, was impressed.

“You know, for me today it was, the guy hasn't played in 18 months, and he comes out and delivered the way he did for us," Morant said. "Special, man.”

Lillard signed a three-year, $42 million deal to rejoin the Blazers in July 2025 after spending two seasons with the Bucks. He had spent the first 11 seasons of his career with Portland.

Lillard averaged 24.9 points and 7.1 assists in his final season with the Bucks, but he played only 58 games because of deep vein thrombosis. For his career, Lillard has averaged 25.1 points and 6.7 assists.

“Coming back off of a major injury, getting back healthy, and making it to this day, being a part of a really good team — at a different time for the Trail Blazers than my last stint with the team — it just felt great to be embraced and welcomed,” Lillard said.

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