Damian Lillard became the eighth player in NBA history to top 70 points in a single game on Sunday when he dropped 71 in a 131-114 victory over the Houston Rockets. The performance is the latest in a string of gems from the Blazers guard. He entered Sunday’s game averaging 37.6 points in his past 18 games. Now, that total is even higher. Lillard began the stretch by scoring 50 points in a loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, and he reached 60 in a win over the Utah Jazz late in January. With 71, he set a new career-high in points while lifting the Blazers to a critical win over the Rockets.
At 28-31, the Blazers entered Sunday’s game not only below .500, but out of the play-in picture. With the win, they gained critical ground on a night in which rivals Minnesota and Oklahoma City lost. They now sit in 11th place in the Western Conference, but only three games behind the No. 4 seed Phoenix Suns.
Lillard had a few chances to push his total even higher in the closing minutes, but with little energy left, waived off looks from his teammates in his final seconds on the floor due to exhaustion. He exited the game with 44.1 seconds remaining to a standing ovation from his fans in Portland.
The game was Lillard’s first after the All-Star break. He was ruled out of Thursday’s game against the Sacramento Kings with a rest designation, which caused a bit of confusion considering it had been nine days since his last game. The decision to sit Lillard out was due to a travel delay. A snowstorm in Portland kept the Blazers on the tarmac for seven hours Wednesday before they ultimately went home and traveled to Sacramento on Thursday. Without Lillard, the Blazers lost to the Kings by 17 points. In the end, though, it’d be hard to complain about the results. Lillard used his rest night as a launching pad for one of the greatest individual performances in NBA history. But how great was it? Let’s take a look at Lillard’s performance by the numbers:
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Lillard is the only player in NBA history to score 70 points and make at least 10 3-pointers in a…
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