Damian Lillard Drops 61 Points To Help Blazers Claim 8th Spot In West
Aug 11, 2020, 8:03 PM | Updated: Apr 26, 2021, 2:15 pm
(Photo by Kim Klement - Pool/Getty Images)
ORLANDO, Fla. – Former Weber State and current Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard had another outstanding performance for his team on Tuesday night.
Lillard finished with 61 points in Portland’s 134-131 win over the Dallas Mavericks. He also had 5 rebounds and 8 assists on 17 of 32 shooting from the field, 9 for 17 from the three-point line and a perfect 18 of 18 at the free throw line in 41 minutes.
The Weber State legend reached 60 points or more in a single game for the third time this season. He is the second player in NBA history to do so, joining Wilt Chamberlain.
Dame Lillard relishes the moment after dropping 61 to move into sole possession of 8th place with one game to go. He is the only player in league history other than Wilt Chamberlain with three 60-plus point games in the same season. pic.twitter.com/6KGF1pIRBy
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) August 12, 2020
Lillard was coming off of a 51-point performance on Sunday in their win over the Philadelphia 76ers. In the last two games, Lillard has scored 112 points.
In the first quarter on Tuesday, Lillard had 12 points. He increased that in the second quarter with 13 points to go to the halftime break with 25 points. In the third quarter, he had 14 points off of three triples, entering the final quarter with 39 points. In the fourth quarter, it was “Dame Time” as he made 22 points and five three-pointers.
Portland improved their record to 34-39 on the season and 5-2 in the NBA Bubble. They have taken sole possession of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. The Trail Blazers are a half of a game ahead of the Memphis Grizzlies, Phoenix Suns and San Antonio Spurs. They will wrap the reseeding portion of the NBA bubble with the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday at 7 p.m. MT on TNT.