Two of NBA’s top scoring point guards had spectacular offensive performances, but they came in tough defeats on Friday night that featured a lot of similarities.
The starting floor general for the five-time defending Western Conference champion Golden State Warriors D’Angelo Russell, who was out the prior three games with a sprained right ankle scored a career-high of 52 points with nine rebounds, five assists, three steals and two block shots, on 19 for 37 from the field, including 7 for 17 from three-point range in the Warriors (2-7) 125-119 overtime loss at the Minnesota Timberwolves (5-3).
“I think I’m capable of doing whatever with the ball in my hands,” Russell said after the loss of his career-high scoring night. “Just trying to make a play every time. Fortunately, the shots were going in and we were making plays. It happens like that in this league.”
Four-time All-Star lead guard for the Portland Trail Blazers (3-6) Damian Lillard scored a career-high and NBA season-high of 60 points, going 19 for 33 from the field, including 7 for 16 from three-point range and 15 for 15 from the free throw line, but his team lost 119-115 versus the Brooklyn Nets (4-4) on Friday night, their fourth consecutive loss.
“It’s fine,” Lillard, who set a new franchise scoring record for a single game said. “It’s whatever. Anytime you set a record its obviously good. I guess it’s not as fun losing.”
This was just the second time in NBA history that two players registered 50-plus point performances on the same night in losing efforts.
The last time it occurred was on Apr. 9, 1978 when Hall of Famers David Thompson and George Gervin had 73 and 63 points respectively at the Detroit Pistons and Utah Jazz as they were duking it out for the scoring title on the last night of the 1977-78 season.
This was also the first time two players scored 60-plus or 50-plus respectively on the same day in more than a quarter century. Hall of Famer and six-time NBA champion Michael Jordan had a 64-point performance for the Chicago Bulls, while fellow Hall of Famer and two-time NBA champion David Robinson of the five-time NBA champion San Antonio Spurs David Robinson had a 52-point performance on the night of Jan. 16, 1993.
On top of that, this marked only the third time the last two decades two players scored 50 or more on the same day.
Lillard and Russell joined Hall of Famer and current ESPN NBA analyst Tracy McGrady and former player for the then New Orleans Hornets Jamal Mashburn did it on Feb. 21, 2003 and Hall of Famer and 2001 Kia MVP Allen Iverson and current Atlanta Hawk Vince Carter, did it two days before Christmas 14 years ago for the Philadelphia 76ers and then New Jersey Nets respectively.
Lillard, joined Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns; 2018 Kia MVP and perennial All-Star James Harden of the Houston Rockets; four-time Kia MVP and three-time NBA champion of the Los Angeles Lakers LeBron James; five-time All-Star and three-time NBA champion of the Warriors Klay Thompson; and three-time All-Star of the Boston Celtics Kemba Walker as the only active players to have a 60-point performance.
The former Weber State product also became only the fourth player in league history to register 60 points or more in a loss joining Walker, who scored 60 in a loss versus the 76ers on Nov. 17, 2018; Booker, who scored 70 on Mar. 24, 2017 at the Celtics, a franchise record for an opponent against the 17-time NBA champs; and Jordan, who registered a previously mentioned 64 points in a loss at the Magic on Jan. 16, 1993.
There were a few common themes that occurred for in the spectacular performances by Lillard and Russell.
First, both the Warriors and Trail Blazers, last season’s Western Conference Finalist have been dealing with injuries to key personnel.
Four of the five Warriors starters in two-time Kia MVP Stephen Curry (fractured left wrist), Thompson (left ACL surgery), Kevon Looney (neuropathy), three-time All-Star and 2017 Kia Defensive Player of the Year Draymond Green (sprained left index finger) and rookie Alen Smailagic (right ankle sprain) are on the mend because of injury.
While Russell had a spectacular scoring night, only and reserve guard Alec Burks and rookie Eric Paschall were the only other Warriors to score in double-figures with 18 and 12 points respectably.
Also, the Warriors without their veterans could not hold a 110-106 lead in the closing moments as two free throws by two-time All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns; a forced jump ball by forward Robert Covington and a driving layup by Andrew Wiggins tied the score at 110 at the end of regulation, and the Timberwolves outscored the visitors in overtime 15-9, with Wiggins hitting the game-clinching three-pointer late in overtime to seal the win.
For the Trail Blazers, whose loss on Friday night dropped them to 0-3 at home so far this season have been without starting center Jusuf Nurkic and future Hall of Fame forward/center Pau Gasol to begin this season because of leg and foot injuries respectably. They lost forward/center Zach Collins, who was starting at power forward due to an injured shoulder sustained in the Trail Blazers’ 121-119 win at the Dallas Mavericks (5-3) on Oct. 27, that required surgery that will shelve him for approximately four months.
They lost reserve big man Skal Labissere late in the fourth quarter versus the Nets due to a sprained right ankle as well as starting small forward Rodney Hood in the opening period with back spasms and did not return.
Along with battling injuries, the Trail Blazers have had a devil of a time closing out games at the start of this season.
Since their close win at the aforementioned Mavericks late last month, the Trail Blazers have in their four losses their last five outings been on the wrong end of the scoreboard by a total of 23 points.
In their 113-110 loss at the Spurs (5-3) on Oct. 28, the Trail Blazers led by 14 (33-19) after the first quarter. Overcame a 15-point deficit in the second half only to come up short when Lillard three-point attempt at the final buzzer from the right corner bounced in and out.
In their 129-128 loss versus the 76ers (5-3) last week, the Trail Blazers could not hold on to a 21-point third quarter lead as 76ers’ reserve Furkan Korkmaz triple right in front of the opposing team’s bench with 00.4 seconds left put them ahead and eventually won them the game.
“We played such a great game and they just chipped away, got back into it and we let one slip,” Lillard who scored 33 points, including hitting eight of the Trail Blazers’ 19 threes on the night. “Any time anybody hits a last-second shot, and puts you up against the clock, it’s a bad feeling.”
On big factor in the Trail Blazers inability to finish closes games properly is their inability to defend as they have allowed during this four-game losing streak 107 points or more.
In their 127-118 loss at the injury riddled Warriors on Monday night, they were outscored 67-55 in the second half, including 40-35 in the fourth quarter as Paschall registered his first career double-double of career-highs of 34 points and 13 rebounds, on 11 for 19 shooting, including 4 for 6 from three-point range and 8 for 8 from the free throw line. Fellow rookie Ky Bowman, who went undrafted had 19 points and eight assists, while reserve guard Damion Lee had 18 points, going 10 for 11 from the charity stripe. Rookie guard Jordan Poole had 16 points and reserve Alec Burks added 13 points.
The Warriors on this night shot 48.8 percent from the floor, going 10 for 26 from three-point range and they outshot the Trail Blazers at the free throw line going 33 for 36 to their 11 for 14 and had 28 assists to their opponents 16.
In the Trail Blazers 119-115 loss versus the Nets, reserve guard Spencer Dinwiddie and All-Star guard Kyrie Irving scored 34 and 33 points respectively going a combined 23 for 45 shooting, including 10 for 18 from three-point range.
The Nets in the victory outrebounded the Trail Blazers 64-61, including 16-13 on the offensive glass.
As great as Lillard was scoring 60, his running mate in CJ McCollum finished with just eight points on 4 for 19 shooting. The only other Trail Blazers to score in double-figures were Anfernee Simons with 15 points, despite going just 5 for 14 from the field, including 2 for 7 from three-point range and starting center Hassan Whiteside with 10 points, 15 rebounds and five block shots.
On Friday night, D’Angelo Russell and Damian Lillard and spectacular games individually, but it did not lead to their respective teams in the Golden State Warriors and Portland Trail Blazers to victory.
For the Warriors, they have come to the conclusion with the injuries to the likes of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green that this season is about getting healthy and seeing what they have on the roster that consists of nine players 23 years old or younger as they look towards the 2020-21 season.
For the Trail Blazers who had very high expectations coming into this season still have the talent to be a contender in the stacked Western Conference. That said the injuries, especially the recent ones to Rodney Hood, Skal Labissiere, and Zach Collins have made things a little bit tougher for them at the moment. They still have Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, and if they can get things together on both ends, they can turn things around quickly. But it has to happen sooner rathe than later.
“I think we’re in position to win games and we [were] in position in the third quarter, in the fourth quarter you’ve got to be present mentally and physically,” Lillard said. “You have to do a little bit more than the other team to win games. I think we compete. I think we’re together. I think we try to do the right things but that little bit of wanting it more than the other team. And wanting it more doesn’t mean playing harder, it means being able to be sharper on one more possession.”
Information, statistics, and quotations are courtesy of 11/19/19 www.nba.com story, “D’Angelo Russell, Damian Lillard Both Score 50-Plus Points;” https://www.nba.com/games/20191108/GSWMIN#/boxscore/recap; https://www.nba.com/games/20191108/BKNPOR#/boxscore/recap; https://www.espn.com/nba/standings; https://www.espn.com/nba/team/schedule/_/name/por; and https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klay_Thompson.
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