A season that started with so much promise
has gone completely South for the Portland Trail Blazers. They currently find
themselves on the outside of the Play-In picture of the Western Conference and
are right now going to finish this season with 80 percent of their starting
lineup out with injury including their perennial All-Star floor general. That
said, they would have not been in position to be earlier this season to compete
for a spot in the West Play-In let alone the 2023 NBA Playoffs with the career
season by their aforementioned floor general, especially with the historic
performance he had at the close of February.
In the Trail Blazers (32-45) 131-114
victory on Feb. 26 versus the West cellar dweller Houston Rockets (19-59),
Damian Lillard scored a career-high 71 points with six rebounds, and six
assists on 22/38 from the field, including 13/22 from three-point range and
14/14 from the foul line.
From the start, Lillard was remarkable
scoring 16 points on 5/8 from the field in the opening period, including 3/5
from three and making all three of his free throws. He followed that up scoring
25 points on 8/11 shooting and 5/6 from three in the second quarter in
registering a 41-point first half as the Trail Blazers outscored the Rockets
41-27 in the period to lead 78-58 at the half. After scoring nine points in the
third quarter, Lillard capped his career-high scoring night scoring 21 points
on 6/12 from the floor and 4/7 from three and made all five of his free throws.
To put into context the kind of night
Lillard had versus the Rockets, he not only set as mentioned a new career-high
for points, he set the single-game scoring records in Trail Blazers history. He
tied the NBA’s single-game scoring high for a player this season, tying the
71-point mark first done by fellow All-Star in Donovan Mitchell of the
Cleveland Cavaliers (48-30), who set that mark in his team’s 145-134 overtime
win versus their rival from the Central Division the Chicago Bulls (37-40).
Lillard became just the eighth player in
NBA history to score 70 or more in a game.
Most Points Scored By A Player
In A Game In NBA History
Wilt Chamberlin
100 Points March 2, 1962 At New York Knicks In Hershey, PA
Kobe Bryant 81 Points Jan. 22, 2006 Vs. Toronto Raptors
Wilt Chamberlin 78 Points Dec. 12, 1961 Vs. Los Angeles Lakers
David Thompson 73 Points Apr. 9,
1978 At Detroit Pistons
Wilt Chamberlin 73 Points Nov. 16, 1962 At New York Knicks
Wilt Chamberlin 73 Points Jan. 13, 1962 Vs. Chicago Packers
Wilt Chamberlin 72 Points Nov. 3, 1962 At Los Angeles Lakers
Donovan Mitchell 71 Points Jan. 2, 2023 Vs. Chicago Bulls
Damian Lillard 71 Points Feb. 26, 2023 Vs. Houston Rockets
Lillard registered his fifth career
60-plus point game. Only the late Hall of Famers Wilt Chamberlin (32) and Kobe
Bryant (6) had more 60-plus point games than Lillard.
Only Klay Thompson of the defending NBA
champion Golden State Warriors has made more threes in a single-game in NBA
history than the 13 that Lillard made versus the Rockets. Lillard tied the
second most threes made in a game in NBA history with Thompson’s “Splash
Brother” teammate in two-time Kia MVP Stephen Curry, which he set in 2016 and fellow
All-Star guard Zach LaVine, who hit 13 triples in a game in 2019 at the
Charlotte Hornets.
While Lillard known for his humility and
always thinking about the team before himself did not know how to react to such
a performance, his teammates made sure they admired and loved how he performed
by giving him the preverbial shower from their water bottles after the win.
Then Lillard’s teammates crowded around
and hugged the six-time All-NBA selection and 2013 Kia Rookie of the Year
before his postgame interview with ROOT Sports Northwest sideline reporter for
the team Brooke Olzendam. The players also showed love to Lillard by taping
their left wrist, which Lillard has done often in his career in reference to
“Dame Time” when often he goes on a big scoring binge, which often has occurred
in the fourth quarter.
Lillard who has become known in his NBA
career for his humility said after the game to Olzendam about how the team then
had 22 games left in the season and that they “need to win as many as possible.”
“Obviously, being shorthanded, I know that
it’s going to be a team effort. But I feel like I have to do my best to be
aggressive and just try to do what I can to make sure we get some wins and that
all the case was tonight. I wanted to be in attack mode. I got it going and I
just stayed aggressive.”
Lillard’s 41-point first half not only was
an NBA-high for points in a half on the season, but it was also the highest
scoring half of his career and the highest scoring half by a player in Trail
Blazers history. He also broke his own franchise mark for points in a game that
was previously 61, which he accomplished twice in his 11-year NBA career.
Lillard said about his first half
performance to Olzendam that he saw a few shots go in a few times and he “just
stayed aggressive.” That he did not “ease up” or “try to back off or
anything.”
The Trail Blazers needed every point
Lillard put on the scoreboard that night against the Rockets, who outscored the
Trail Blazers 30-29 in the third to cut a that 20-point lead by the
homestanding Trail Blazers down to 14 (102-88) after three quarters and scored
the first six points of the fourth period to trim the lead to 102-94. Lillard’s
11 made triple of the game, which tied his career-high put the Trail Blazers
back up by double-digits, which is where they would remain.
Lillard said to Olzendam about being
shorter handed in terms of the roster, the Trail Blazers on this night played
without Jusuf Nurkic because of a left calf strain.
Other than Lillard, the only other players
that scored in double-figures for head coach Chauncey Billups were Jerami
Grant, who had 13 and Nassir Little, who registered 11 points.
Lillard said to Olzendam that in the third
quarter when the Rockets defense put their focus on slowing Lillard’s scoring
rampage that he wanted to exercise “patience.” That patience led to the likes
of Matisse Thybulle, who had eight points on 2/5 from three on the evening
making a couple of threes and Trendon Watford, who scored half a dozen off the
bench made some plays in the paint whether it was scoring himself or find an
open teammate. That drew the Rockets attention, which allowed Lillard to get it
rolling again the in fourth quarter, which included a crowd roaring one-handed
dunk in the final period on Rockets’ rookie Jabari Smith, Jr.
Lillard on that play said to Olzendam that
the two previous offensive possessions before in his assaults on the rim ended
with him getting blocked twice by the former Auburn Tiger.
The third meeting at the rim between
Lillard and Smith, Jr. Lillard said that the third attempt will either end up
being a third block or that he was “going to have to turn this one over.”
“I exploded a little bit in these old legs
and I was able to turn one over,” Lillard said jokingly.
The win by the Trail Blazers on that
evening kept the Trail Blazers within striking distance of making the Play-In
Tournament to get back to the Playoffs thanks in large part to Lillard.
Unfortunately, Lillard’s performances
after that did not help the Trail Blazers cause as they have gone just 3-14
following that victory over the Rockets, which as put them now 5.5 games behind
the Oklahoma City Thunder for the No. 10 and final Play-In spot in the Western
Conference with five games left and four of those five on the road before
ending the season Apr. 9 versus the Warriors.
Since that magnificent night at the Moda
Center in Portland, OR in front of Trail Blazers’ nation and those that watched
on ROOT Sports Northwest, Lillard had scored 20 or more in a career-best 33
consecutive games. That has consisted of eight games of 30-plus points and four
games with 40-plus points, which consist of the previously mentioned 71-point
performance.
What made what Lillard pulled off that
February evening even more special is that his day leading up to that
performance did not start off well.
Lillard woke up late, which prevented him
going into the Trail Blazers practice facility to get some work in before the
game. He order food to eat before the game, which he did not receive because
the people that were supposed to deliver the food could not find his place of
residence. On top that it was HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and
Universities night) at Moda Center and the hoodie that Lillard wanted to wear
was at the practice facility, which a member of the Trail Blazers support staff
had to go and retrieve.
“It was just like it was all over the
place, man,” Lillard said of the start of that Feb. 26 day.
Before the contest, Lillard was honored at
center court for winning the Starry Three-Point contest during NBA All-Star
Weekend where he received the trophy from Trail Blazers’ GM Joe Cronin. Mr.
Cronin said to Lillard after looking around the arena that, “The crowd is crazy
in here tonight.”
Lillard turned back to him and said,
“That’s because they’re expecting a run. Like they’re excited for something.”
What they got is a memorable performance
where they saw the Trail Blazers’ all-time leading scorer put on an epic
performance that began with Lillard making two triples and a layup.
It was after making the second triple that
Lillard said hearing the sound of the crowd and how he felt after that this
night could be special, which it was.
Former WNBA champion and now Director of
Basketball Strategy for the Trail Blazers Asjha Jones said that she sent out
text messages to people she knows as
Lillard is lighting up the Rockets, “this man’s incredible.”
“Going on, you just see him. He’s not
getting tired. He’s unphased by the defense and the trapping. He’s just
single-minded and he’s just focused and when he gets like that, he’s a
machine.”
Watford echoed those same feelings saying
Lillard “was in a different rhythm than other games and we looked up at halftime,
he had 41 [points].”
Coach Billups called Lillard’s
performance, “Masterful. It was a piece of art, man.”
Little called what Lillard did versus the
Rockets “a surreal feeling.”
Thybulle added about Lillard’s
performance, “Just his ability to make these amazing plays night-in and
night-out.”
“I mean being a part of the game where
somebody scores 71 points, that’s an amazing thing to do.”
How the Trail Blazers are finishing this
season, particularly the fact that a majority of their key players are out, it
is easy to point fingers and say that this team should be broken up and the
Trail Blazers need to start from scratch.
The reality is that the 2022-23 Trail
Blazers have a togetherness to where despite the fact the fact this season will
end with no postseason hoops for a second consecutive spring, they are as close
and connected as can be and that is in large part to Lillard and how he has
performed this season, especially what he did as mentioned against the Rockets.
“It’s definitely more special when you do
it on your home floor. You do it in front your home fans,” Lillard said of his
71-point evening. “People who’ve been watching me for 11 seasons in the league.
They’ve seen a lot of moments.”
“When you have the ultimate moment like
that, obviously you want to have it in front of your family. That made it a
perfect experience.”
The 2022-23 Portland Trail Blazers began
this season 10-4 with the hopes and dreams of making it back to the postseason
after a one-year absence. Injuries and inconsistent play, especially
defensively has them staring at a second straight spring with no postseason
hoops in “Rip City.” It is also the second straight season that their headliner
Damian Lillard will not be performing on the NBA’s biggest and brightest stage.
For the Trail Blazers the close of this
season is about now finding out who will be a part of their future. It is
finding out how good rookie Shaedon Sharpe, the No. 7 overall pick in the 2022
draft is. It is finding out if the likes of Matisse Thybulle and Cam Reddish,
who the Trail Blazers acquired at the Feb. 9 NBA trade deadline where they fit
in the scheme of things going forward for the Trail Blazers. It is also finding
out where do Anfernee Simons, Jusuf Nurkic, Nassir Little, Trendon Watford,
Drew Eubanks fit in the grand scheme of Trail Blazers plan to being a
consistent postseason perennial and hopefully a championship squad.
One of the hardest things to find the NBA
is a headliner that you can build your team around and who will hopefully take
you to the promise land. For 11 seasons, the Trail Blazers have had that player
in Damian Lillard and all the closest they have been to competing for a title
is the Western Conference Finals in 2019, where they were swept by the Golden
State Warriors.
One thing that Lillard has made very clear
is that he wants to finish his career with the Trail Blazers. He has no desire
of teaming up with any other star player(s) in “The Association” in his pursuit
to that elusive title.
“I just think it’s all about the
investment that I’ve put in to being the player that I am,” Lillard said to
NBATV after the win versus the Rockets. “It becomes worth it and it shines
through. So, that happens far before the moments come.”
Information, statistics, and quotations
are courtesy of 2/26/2023 10 p.m. “Houston Rockets versus Portland Trail Blazers”
ROOT Sports Northwest With Kevin Calabro, Lamar Hurd, and Brooke Olzendam;
2/27/2023 12:35 a.m. ESPN News Crawl and “Sportscenter With Scott Van Pelt”
from Washington, D.C.; 2/27/2023 1 a.m. NBATV’s “Gametime” With Nabil Karim,
Steve Smith, and Sam Mitchell; 3/24/2023 Portland Trail Blazers: “The Trail,” Presented
By Alaska Airlines, Chapter 6: Shooting Stars; www.espn.com/nba/player/gamelog/_/6606/damian-lillard;
www.statmuse.com; and https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damian_Lillard.
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