Basketball: Brilliant Lillard erupts for 71 points as Blazers blast Rockets

LOS ANGELES – Damian Lillard erupted into “attack mode” for a career-high 71 points as the Portland Trail Blazers thrashed the Houston Rockets on Sunday.

In a breathtaking performance in front of a rapturous Portland crowd, Lillard etched his name into National Basketball Association (NBA) folklore to drive the Blazers to a 131-114 victory.

It was the first time in Lillard’s glittering career that he has scored more than 70 points, and the second time this season he has breached the 60-point barrier.

According to ESPN, he is the oldest player in NBA history to register a 70-point game and the only one 30 or older to do so.

Afterwards, the 32-year-old said he had simply been motivated by securing victory for Portland.

The Blazers are just outside the play-in places with a 29-31 record in the Western Conference.

“We’ve got 22 or 23 games after this and we need to win as many as possible,” Lillard said.

“I know it’s a team effort, but I feel like I’ve got to do my best to be aggressive and do what I can to make sure we get some wins.

“I wanted to be in attack mode, I got it going early on and I stayed aggressive.”

Only three other players in NBA history – Wilt Chamberlain, Kobe Bryant and David Thompson – have scored more points in a single game. Chamberlain hit 100 points, followed by Bryant’s 81. Thompson scored 73 points for Denver against Detroit in 1978.

This season’s record of 71 points is held by Lillard and Cleveland Cavaliers’ Donovan Mitchell, who reached his mark in a win over the Chicago Bulls on Jan 2.

“My mum calls me and says @Dame_Lillard tied your record... you gotta get 72 now,” Mitchell posted on Twitter with some laughing emojis.

Lillard also threatened to beat Klay Thompson’s record of 14 three-pointers in a single game. In the end, however, the seven-time NBA All-Star fell just short, draining 13 threes from 22 attempts.

Overall, Lillard made 22 of 38 from the field, including a perfect 14 of 14 from the free-throw line.

As the final buzzer sounded at Portland’s Moda Centre, he was mobbed by teammates and showered with confetti in recognition of a superb performance that eclipsed his previous best of 61 points.

Lillard’s remarkable shooting saw him amass 41 points in the first half alone. “I came out and saw it go in (the basket) a few times and I just stayed aggressive,” he said.

“I didn’t ease up or back off. The second half they came out and put a lot of attention on me, but I just wanted to stay patient. I kept making the right plays.

“I was able to get a little run going again in the second half and it turned into how it was like in the first half.”

Blazers coach Chauncey Billups was awestruck: “We don’t get the chance to experience things like this a lot, and I’ve been around the league a long, long time. 71 points – that’s just incredible.”

He also paid tribute to Lillard’s discipline in not trying to force his scoring in the second half.

“Having 41 points at half-time was insane, and then he came out in the second half and in the third quarter, he just made every right play,” he said.

“He just wasn’t forcing it at all. He just understood what they were going to come out and do. And that takes incredible discipline – to know not to force it. That was so impressive.

“I said to Dame during the game, ‘This could be one of those special nights’ – but I didn’t know it could be this special.”

While Portland remain in the hunt for a post-season berth, the Rockets (13-47) have the worst record in the NBA and are bottom of the Western Conference.

In the late game in Denver, Nikola Jokic dropped a 40-point triple-double as the Nuggets downed the Los Angeles Clippers 134-124 in overtime. He finished with 40 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists. Kawhi Leonard led the Clippers with 33 points. AFP