Damian Lillard: Blazers Talked to Refs 'Probably More Than We Needed' in Game 1

Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard said Monday night that the Blazers may have been too preoccupied with the officiating in a 121-113 loss to the Denver Nuggets in Game 1 of their second-round playoff series.

According to ESPN.com's Royce Young, Lillard suggested the Blazers should rein it in: "I think it was a little bit more of that, probably more than we needed. Maybe we needed to not say as much. Any time you see guys wanting it that bad, you're going to say stuff sometimes, but we might've had a little too much of that tonight."

At the same time, Lillard expressed the need to speak up if the officiating appears to become too one-sided:

"It was a little bit of a heated game when it came to the whistle for us. We'd say something when something needed to be said. Nobody got a tech, so it wasn't anything disrespectful. But when your season is on the line, you've got to be willing to challenge what's happening out there and try to put your team in the best position to win."

Portland was called for 24 personal fouls to Denver's 22 in Game 1, and the Nuggets attempted 31 free throws, while the Blazers took 27.

Denver Nuggets vs. Portland Trail Blazers - Game Highlights

Denver took far greater advantage of its attempts from the charity stripe than Portland, as it made 27 of 31. That included center Nikola Jokic, who scored a team-high 37 points and went 12-of-12.

Meanwhile, the Blazers went just 20-of-27. Lillard made 11 of his 13 freebies and finished with a game-high 39 points in the defeat.

The Blazers were dominant in a 4-1 first-round series win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, but it's already clear that they have a tougher matchup in the second round.

Denver is more battle-tested in these playoffs since it had to go seven games to dispatch the seventh-seeded San Antonio Spurs in the opening round.

This season represents perhaps the Blazers' best chance to make a deep playoff run during Lillard's tenure. That is because the Golden State Warriors, who hold a 1-0 series lead over the Houston Rockets, showed some vulnerabilities during their 4-2 series win over the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round.

Also, Portland split the season series 2-2 with Golden State during the regular season, which suggests it may have the roster makeup needed to push the two-time defending champs should the teams meet in the Western Conference Finals.

Given the Blazers' playoff struggles in recent years, anything short of a trip to the conference finals would be considered a failure, which is why Lillard and Co. need to refocus quickly.