Neil Olshey confirmed that Festus Ezeli will not return to the Portland Trail Blazers next season.

Ezeli underwent an experimental knee surgery in March.

Ezeli signed a two-year, $15.2 million contract with the Blazers last offseason. Ezeli has a partially guaranteed contract at $7.33 million.

Ezeli didn't appear in any regular season games for the Blazers.

Damian Lillard has developed a new obsession with trying to beat the Golden State Warriors.

"You have to be obsessed with that because you know that they're so good that they're going to be there," Lillard said after a 128-103 loss in Game 4. "That's who you're going to have to get through to get to where you want to get to. That's what it is."

Lillard had 34 points in 31 minutes in Game 4.

"I wouldn't say it was a successful year," Lillard told ESPN. "We got tested, and I think we answered the bell. I felt like we showed our true colors by the way we fought. But I wouldn't say successful. I think it was growth. A year of growth for us."

The Blazers also lost to the Warriors in the playoffs in 2016. Lillard talked about how well the Warriors play together.

"You also got to understand that if you ever want to get out of the West, you're going to have to go through them," Lillard said during his media address. "And for me, I understand that's what it is. It's always been that way in the NBA. I think about when the Pistons were just beating up on [Michael] Jordan. [They] were just kicking his butt every year, and he had to get through them if he wanted to get to where he wanted to get to. That's just what it is. [The Warriors are] going to be there. They're going to be there every year. We have to look at that and understand that we got to be better. We have to go get better,and come back better as a group if we want to move past them."

Jusuf Nurkic has been ruled out of Game 4 by the Portland Trail Blazers after returning for Game 3.

"He didn't do any further damage," Terry Stotts said on Sunday. "There was soreness, tenderness and it just wouldn't be wise to have him play through that."

Nurkic was limited to 3-to-5 minute shifts in Game 3.

Nurkic's mobility was limited though he made an impact on the game.

"It was a really good effort I thought," Stotts said. "He's a big part of our team and not only was it a good effort for these playoffs and this team, but I think going forward it spoke a lot to who he is and what kind of teammate he is."

Rick Carlisle, Dwane Casey and Terry Stotts each were fired as head coach of the Indiana Pacers, Minnesota Timberwolves and Milwaukee Bucks around the same time in 2007.

The trio sat out the 07-08 season and interviewed with a number of teams as a package deal before settling on the Dallas Mavericks.

“Rick and I joked about this,” Casey says. “If he got a head coaching job, he would hire me as an assistant. And if I got a head coaching job, I was going to hire him as an assistant. We kind of bonded together on this. We got Terry with us and we kind of interviewed as a staff.

“We met with the Knicks. We interviewed in Chicago. We met with Donnie Nelson at Rick’s house. The next morning, Mark Cuban flew into Indy and we interviewed again. We were a package deal. Rick was the head coach. I was in charge of the defence. Terry was in charge of the offence.”

The Mavericks went on to win the title in 2011. Casey was then hired by the Toronto Raptors and Stotts went to the Portland Trail Blazers.

Damian Lillard scored a franchise record 59 points in the Portland Trail Blazers' 101-86 win over the Utah Jazz.

Lillard made 18 of 34 field goals, including 9 of 14 three-pointers, and 14 of 16 free throws.

Lillard eclipsed Damon Stoudamire's single-game franchise scoring record (54 in 2005) points and surpassed Brandon Roy's Moda Center scoring record (52 in 2008).

Lillard has now scored 30 or more points 27 times this season.

"So when I went to the line, I missed the first one and I was like, 'All right, I'm going to finish with 59 even if I make the next two,'" Lillard said. "So when I missed the second one and (the crowd) was like, "Oooooh,' I was like, 'What happened?' I made the last one and I looked up and I had 59. And I was like ..."

Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard have been named the Kia NBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month, respectively, for games played in March.
 
Antetokounmpo helped the Bucks finish an Eastern Conference-best 14-4 in March, the franchise’s first calendar month with at least 14 victories since going 16-2 in February 1971.  The 22-year-old from Greece averaged 22.4 points (ninth in the East), 8.4 rebounds (10th in the East), 4.8 assists, 1.78 blocked shots (fourth in the East) and 1.33 steals in 18 games. He also shot 51.4 percent from the field, his fifth straight month above 50.0. Antetokounmpo posted five point-rebound double-doubles during the month, including three that featured more than 30 points each. The All-Star forward capped the month by recording 28 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists in a 108-105 overtime victory against the Detroit Pistons on March 31.     
Behind Lillard, the Trail Blazers went an NBA-best 13-3 in March to surge into eighth place in the Western Conference. Lillard ranked third in the NBA in scoring (29.1 ppg) and tied for fourth in three-pointers made (55) to go with 6.0 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 1.44 steals in 16 games. The 26-year-old guard shot 48.3 percent from the field, 41.7 percent from three-point range and 87.7 percent from the free throw line.  Lillard posted eight games with at least 30 points, including a season-high 49-point performance in a 115-104 road win over the Miami Heat on March 19. He matched a career high with nine three-pointers and hit 12-of-12 at the free throw line against Miami.    

The Milwaukee Bucks’ Jason Kidd and the Portland Trail Blazers’ Terry Stotts were named the NBA Eastern and Western Conference Coaches of the Month, respectively, for games played in March. 
 
Kidd led the Bucks to an Eastern Conference-best 14-4 record, the franchise’s first calendar month with at least 14 victories since going 16-2 in February 1971.  Milwaukee had identical 7-2 records at home and away from the BMO Harris Bradley Center.  The road success featured wins over the East-leading Boston Celtics, the playoff-bound LA Clippers and the surging Trail Blazers.  The Bucks finished March in fifth place in the East – which is their current standing – after starting the month in 10^th.        
 
Stotts guided the Trail Blazers to an NBA-best 13-3 record in March as Portland climbed into eighth place in the Western Conference.  Portland went 6-1 on the road, including victories against two West playoff teams, the San Antonio Spurs and the Oklahoma City Thunder.  The Trail Blazers closed the month on a five-game winning streak, highlighted by a 117-107 home victory over the West’s third-place team, the Houston Rockets, on March 30.  Stotts’ team led the NBA in three-point field goal percentage (41.7) and ranked third in field goal percentage (48.7) and fourth in scoring (111.3 ppg).