PORTLAND — When one of the good stories of the 2019 NBA playoffs became a great story, much of the country was asleep.



It was roughly 1 a.m. Wednesday on the East Coast when Damian Lillard hit a 37-footer at the buzzer to send the Trail Blazers to a 4-1 series win over Oklahoma City in the opening round of the NBA playoffs.



This has long been a reality of the Trail Blazers, who are beloved locally, but have to most of the nation remained either irrelevant or a morning afterthought.



But here they are, still standing as one of the more likable, engaging and exciting basketball teams left in the NBA playoffs, even if they are tucked in the Northwest as the smallest market remaining.



Inside the state, they have become like rock stars, not just because they share the ball and play free and loose, but because they rub shoulders with the rest of us. They roller skate at the local rink. They explore the renowned Oregon wineries. They four-wheel in the...