The last time Damian Lillard appeared in a game for the Trail Blazers, Taylor Swift had played all of two shows on the Eras Tour.

“Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” had not yet hit theaters.

Oregon still played in the Pac-12 and very few people in Portland had ever heard the name Tom Dundon.

The final, unthinkable tally since that lost spring of 2023: 1,310 days.

On Wednesday night, time lost all meaning, broken hearts and torn tendons magically healed and the rancor, angst and bitterness inspired by an interloping billionaire disappeared, as though a strong wind had pushed away angry black clouds from above the city.

Only one man is capable of all that.

Hello, Dame. Good to see you. Welcome home.

Oh, how Blazers fans needed this. And oh, how Lillard did, too.

“It’s no secret,” Lillard said, “the relationship between myself and our fans and the city of Portland.”

Secrets, you see, are held close and whispered.…