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Damian Lillard's garbage time dunk bothers Chicago Bulls

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A number of the Bulls' players and staff were unhappy with Blazers rookie Damian Lillard, who dunked late in their win over Chicago rather than dribble out the clock.

Steve Dykes-US PRESSWIRE

Late in the Bulls' 102-94 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, Blazers rookie Damian Lillard went in for a dunk with the game well in hand, rather than dribble the time off the clock. This did not sit well with a number of Bulls players and the Bulls' staff, according to CSNChicago's Aggrey Sam:

"[Lillard] didn’t say anything. He was making a scene out of nothing. He made a [dunk], and me and Joakim just addressed it like, ‘In the future, you’ve just got to be smarter. A lot of teams are not going to let you do that,’ and [Trail Blazers forward] Jared [Jeffries] just came up and told me the same thing, that I was right," he [Taj Gibson] explained. "But it wasn’t anything more than that. I was just like, ‘You can’t do that. You’ve got to be smart.’"

Bulls point guard Nate Robinson shares an agent with Lillard, and he spoke to him after the game about the wisdom of such a move. Lillard has previously contacted Robinson regarding advice about life in the NBA, so they have a relationship.

Lillard has impressed many early in his NBA career. The sixth overall pick in the 2012 draft out of Weber State, Lillard has averaged 19 points, 6.1 assists, and 3.2 rebounds per game so far this season, and is expected by many to be a contender, if not the main contender, for the Rookie of the Year award.