
Damian Lillard, Devin Booker, Luka Doncic Headline NBA's First-Team All-Bubble
The Portland Trail Blazers' Damian Lillard and Houston Rockets' James Harden headlined the NBA All-Seeding Games teams announced Saturday.
Here's a look at the complete group of selections, which were made based solely on play during each team's eight games to finish the 2019-20 regular season in the NBA's "bubble" at the Disney World complex in Orlando, Florida:
First Team
Damian Lillard (Portland Trail Blazers)
Devin Booker (Phoenix Suns)
Luka Doncic (Dallas Mavericks)
James Harden (Houston Rockets)
T.J. Warren (Indiana Pacers)
Second Team
Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks)
Kawhi Leonard (Los Angeles Clippers)
Caris LeVert (Brooklyn Nets)
Michael Porter Jr. (Denver Nuggets)
Kristaps Porzingis (Dallas Mavericks)
Lillard's Blazers were the league's most underperforming team before the season was halted March 11 because of the coronavirus pandemic. Their 29-37 record was far below their talent level, though injuries to frontcourt starters Jusuf Nurkic and Zach Collins played a role in the struggles.
Portland looked like a far more dangerous team in the bubble. Nurkic and Collins returned, but the more important factor was the elite play of Lillard, who scored at least 20 points in all eight games, including monster scoring performances of 61, 51, 45 and 42.
The five-time All-Star selection was also named the MVP of the seeding games.
Meanwhile, Harden averaged 34.1 points across seven bubble games to clinch his third consecutive NBA scoring title. It's unclear why he seemingly fell out of the overall MVP conversation, which has become a debate between Antetokounmpo and the Los Angeles Lakers' LeBron James.
Houston will enter the playoffs as the No. 4 seed in the loaded Western Conference.
Booker and the Suns won't take part in the postseason, but they were the other major story of the bubble, winning all eight of their games to miss the play-in tournament on a tiebreaker.
The 23-year-old sharpshooter continued to prove himself as one of the NBA's top scorers, averaging 30.5 points while shooting 50.3 percent from the field.
Doncic posted a trio of triple-doubles in the bubble, while Warren was one its breakout stars, highlighted by a 53-point explosion against the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Blazers and Memphis Grizzlies will battle for the final playoff berth in the West beginning Saturday. Memphis needs to beat Portland two straight times to claim the spot. A single Blazers win will push them through to a meeting with the Los Angeles Lakers.
All other series will kick off Monday or Tuesday.





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