Three years and one day later, Lillard …

Three years and one day later, Lillard was back in Houston on Monday, on another end of a beatdown to the Rockets. He was older now, with more perspective, and a different outlook. “If I felt that way again, I would say it again,” Lillard said. “But at that time, it was different than it is now. Like right now, we are competing on defense, making the team miss, but we can’t get the ball. So right now, I’m more like ‘Come on, man. We’ve got to figure this out.’” When I approached Lillard as he was leaving the arena, and he instinctively knew I was going to go back to that 2016 scene. “When I saw you walking up, I just knew you were going to say that,” Lillard said.