Terry Stotts: Damian Lillard Will 'Come Back' from Game 4 Struggles vs. Nuggets

Portland Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts is confident point guard Damian Lillard will bounce back from his shooting struggles against the Denver Nuggets through the first four games of the NBA postseason's second round. 

"Taking nothing away from Denver defense, Dame has had a lot of shots we all think he can make," Stotts told reporters before Game 5 on Tuesday. "He was off the charts against Oklahoma City. He'll come back."

Lillard hasn't been ice cold against Denver; his 42.9 field-goal percentage isn't far off his 44.4 percent mark in the regular season. However, he did encounter trouble in Game 2 (5-of-17) and Game 4 (9-of-22) and has made just 25.7 percent of his three-pointers during the series.

Still, this is Damian Lillard we're talking about, the man whose Plan A in the dying seconds of a first-round-clinching win over the Oklahoma City Thunder involved launching a 37-foot three-pointer. And that shot was good over 6'9" forward Paul George, who has six inches on Lillard and is one of the game's best defenders.

Regardless, Lillard's shooting woes aren't the reason the Blazers haven't fared better in this series.

Portland and Denver have proved evenly matched, with all their games coming down to the fourth quarter. None have been decided by more than eight points, and the two teams needed four overtimes to end Game 3. It's been a back-and-forth affair that's arguably been the most well-played series during these NBA playoffs.

Ultimately, there isn't much cause for concern at this point, and Lillard can make any shooting-slump talk a distant memory with one of his patented hot streaks.