NBA – Damian Lillard explodes the Rockets defense with 71 points. The Portland point guard breaks his career high and equals the best mark of the season.
Never have there been so many performances at 40 points and more in an NBA season, and we can now add that there have never been so many performances at 70 points in the same season! After Donovan Mitchell
it’s the turn of Damian Lillard to set his career high with 71 points against the Rockets! The Blazers point guard is only the 8th player in history to reach the 70-point threshold, and he even becomes the oldest player to achieve such a performance. At 32, he is even the only thirty-year-old in history to achieve this. He is also the first to reach this total by playing less than 40 minutes!
“We have, I think, 22 or 23 matches left… We know that players are missing and that it’s a collective sport, but I feel that I have to do my best to be aggressive and do everything possible. so that we get victories” responded Lillard, who finished the game 22 of 38 on shots and 13 of 22 from 3-point range. “I stayed in ‘attack mode’ the whole game. I didn’t try to relax. In the second half, they hugged me closer, and I remained patient. »
An anti-doping test!
Already at 41 points at the break, Lillard equaled the points record for the season set by Donovan Mitchell, and he seized two franchise records with 71 points but also 13 3-point shots. He fails an award-winning shot from Klay Thompson’s record, and equals Stephen Curry (2016) and Zach LaVine (2019), also authors of 13 3-point shots in a game.
In a boiling MODA Center, Lillard received a standing ovation as Chauncey Billups called him back to the bench 44 seconds from the end. On the other hand, he quickly came down from his cloud when someone from the NBA came to see him after the game for an anti-doping test! Donovan Mitchell had suffered his the day after his performance at 71 points.
We will also remember that Lillard signed his 5th career game at 60 points or more, and he overtook Michael Jordan. Only Wilt Chamberlain (32) and Kobe Bryant (6) have done better in history. It’s also his 15th game with 50 or more points, and it’s the 6th best total in history.