Lillard's college coach was 'in awe' of his Game 5 performance

Damian Lillard put together a performance to remember against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday, dropping 50 points and hitting the game-winning three to send the Portland Trail Blazers to the second round of the NBA playoffs.

Among those left stunned was Randy Rahe, who coached Lillard at Weber State from 2008-12.

"I gotta be honest with you. I've watched him play a lot of games, I've seen him have a lot of great performances, and I'm sitting there with my wife last night, and actually I was in awe for the first time maybe in a long time - of not just before the shot, but what he was doing up to that point," Rahe told TMZ Sports on Wednesday. "I kept thinking, 'There's no way he can continue this, right?'

" ... As he's coming down and sizing up (Paul) George, my wife said, 'He needs to drive it.' And I said, 'No, he ain't doing that. He's gonna let one go.' And by God, he did, and when it went in, it was absolutely the most fitting ending for a performance like that that you can possibly have."

Rahe said he reached out to Lillard after the game to let him know how proud he was.

"My message to him was: 'There's nobody in that league that deserves and has worked harder for that moment than him,'" Rahe said.