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Damian Lillard honored his fallen friend by writing "R.I.P Meshawn" on his game shoes against the Orlando Magic Friday at the Moda Center.

(Sean Meagher)

The bad news came Thursday through a photograph on Instagram. Damian Lillard saw it, held his breath and hoped for the best.

"Maybe it's just Meshawn's birthday," the Portland Trail Blazers' All-Star point guard thought, as he looked at a picture of his friend, Meshawn Beard. But a collection of prayer-hand emoji's beneath the photo suggested otherwise.

So Lillard called a friend in Oakland and his worst fears were confirmed. Beard, a childhood friend whom Lillard was trying to mentor and push away from trouble, had been shot and killed in Oakland 45 minutes earlier.

"It's really sad," Lillard said. "When I first heard it, I took a deep breath ... just thought, 'That's crazy.' As the day went on, I saw at least 50 people post it on Instagram and each time I saw a picture, it was hard. Plenty of people I knew growing up, stuff has happened to them. But this one was tough. This one was close."

So close, Lillard honored his fallen friend Friday night, writing "R.I.P. Meshawn" in black marker on his shoes as the Blazers' played the Orlando Magic at the Moda Center.

"I'm usually not one to be so out there with stuff like this," Lillard said before tipoff Friday night. "But that was my little homie. I feel bad because he was a good kid. He just got caught up in some stuff."

Lillard said Beard, who was five years younger than him, was the little kid who always followed around the older kids. During pick-up games at the neighborhood park, Beard would shoot hoops by himself on the side, just to be near Lillard. When Lillard reached high school and blossomed into a standout, Beard would tag along on bus rides to the games.

And when Lillard earned a college scholarship to Weber State, Beard used Lillard as a role model, a first-hand example of how to make it out of the inner-city.

Lillard grew up on 98th Street in the Brookfield Neighborhood of Oakland. Beard grew up on 85th. If Lillard could do it, so could he.

Lillard has lived miles away from that life for nine years now -- four years of college and five more in the NBA -- and that idea has consumed him since he learned about Beard's death on Thursday.

"You look at it and think that you're nine years removed from that," Lillard said. "And you kind of forget how bad it really is and what my reality could have been. It's tough, man, when it gets this close and it's not a sickness or something like that. When it's a murder."

Lillard and Beard had stayed in contact over the years and Lillard was trying to help mentor his young friend. Beard had evolved into a pretty good high school basketball player, thanks in part to guidance from the same high school coaches Lillard had, and Lillard was trying to connect Beard to NAIA schools to play and earn an education. They talked through Facetime regularly.

The Blazers lost 115-109 to the Magic on Friday and Lillard finished with 34 points and eight rebounds. In many ways, it was a forgettable game for the inconsistent Blazers (18-24), who are in the middle of a disappointing season. But in many other ways, it's a game Lillard will always remember.

"He got involved with some stuff after high school and I've been trying to look out for him," Lillard said of Beard. "I could tell that he was just trying to keep in touch. He knew some of the stuff he was involved in might not always be right. He just wanted to keep in touch and have that positivity, I could tell. I did my best to answer the call and be there for him.

"It's just a sad day."

Joe Freeman | jfreeman@oregonian.com | 503-294-5183 | @BlazerFreeman