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PORTLAND, Ore. -- For perennial All-Defensive candidate Tony Allen, it was just two shots. But despite what Allen may think, the reality is that Lillard time was on time in Portland on Friday.

Putting on one of his signature performances, Damian Lillard scored 11 straight points in the fourth quarter to lead the Trail Blazers past the Memphis Grizzlies, 112-109. Lillard scored 15 of his game-high 33 points in the fourth, yet for some reason that didn't impress Allen.

"He hit two shots, that's hot?" Allen said. "When he hit two like that? I only saw two of those big shots on me, it didn't look like he was hot to me, he hit two big shots. That's all I saw, two big 3s. A curl 3 and a pull-up 3 from deep. So I didn't see the hot."

While Allen is technically right as he wasn't the primary defender on Lillard, at least Grizzlies coach David Fizdale rightly praised the Blazers guard.

"We tried to trap him," Fizdale said. " We had our best defender on him. He made some right in Tony Allen's face. I couldn't guard it any better, and that's what it comes down to sometimes - make or miss. We get him to miss a couple of those and maybe we could pull this out on the road, but he was just nailing the ones he needed to make."

Lillard not getting recognition for his play is nothing new. For the second straight year, Lillard was snubbed from the All-Star Game. The plethora of talent in the West coupled with Portland's underachieving, sub-.500 record is likely why Lillard wasn't selected.

But Lillard's numbers are ridiculous and he's the primary reason why the Blazers have had any semblance of success. Plus as The Starters' Trey Kerby pointed out, Lillard is the first player ever with averages of 26 points, 4.8 rebounds and 5.8 assists to not make the All-Star Game.

Last year after not being selected, Lillard released a rap song addressing the snub. And while he very well could do that again, as he showed against the Grizzlies, Lillard is letting his play do the talking. The snub, though, is "consciously" on his mind.

"Not subconsciously, consciously." Lillard said. "Anytime something like that happens, you got to find the right place to put it. You can't make yourself get too much into it and take yourself out of what the team is doing. You got to try and throw yourself into the team and be better. That's what I got to do, be better. That's the bottom line."

After his performance against the Grizzlies, it is hard to see what Lillard needs to do better, especially if he can consistently keep playing at such a high level. But as Lillard notes, above all he is more focused on his team and getting the Blazers into the playoffs.

The Blazers are currently ninth in the West, and their win against the Grizzlies did move them closer to the eighth-seeded Denver Nuggets. The playoffs are the overall goal for Lillard and the Blazers, not individual All-Star appearances.

"This year I've been more consumed with our team." Lillard said. "We haven't had a great season and we are trying to turn that around. I'm more concerned with that, anyway.

"You always want to be part of things like [the All-Star Game]. Obviously you feel some kind of way about it because you feel deprived of something that you worked hard for and that you earned, that you produced for. But like I said, we got our own problems to worry about and that's what we need to be focused on."