Damian Lillard Scores Career-best 71 Points In Trail Blazers' Win Over Rockets

On Sunday night, Damian Lillard had a great game and accomplished several new goals. Lillard tallied a career-high 71 points in the Portland Trail Blazer's 131-114 victory over the Houston Rockets, after scoring 41 points in the first half. Lillard played 39 minutes, hit a career-high 13 3-pointers, and shot 22 of 38 from the field. Lillard made a lot of progress Sunday night. He now ranks third in career 60-point games with five, behind Wilt Chamberlain's 61 and Kobe Bryant's six. At 32, he is the oldest player to ever score 70 points in league history and has the eighth-highest scoring game in league history. Moreover, he is the only player in league history to get at least 70 points in under 40 minutes. Lillard is the only player to have scored more points in a game than Chamberlain, Bryant, and David Thompson. Lillard made eight 3-pointers in the first two quarters, giving him 41 points before he entered the locker room at halftime. In the first nine minutes of the second quarter alone, he made 8 of 11 shots for 25 points. He joined only Bryant, who accomplished this feat in 2003, as the only other player to ever score at least 40 points while draining eight 3-pointers. In the previous 25 seasons, it is also tied with Kyrie Irving for the second-most points scored in a half, trailing only the 42 points scored by Bryant in 2003.By the end of the third quarter, Lillard had scored 50 points, but the Rockets had closed the gap to 14 points from as much as 23 early on. With a tremendous and-one slam over Jabari Smith Jr. midway in the fourth quarter, he increased his lead to 59. Lillard then hit his 12th 3-pointer of the game, a step-back shot over Jae'Sean Tate, breaking his previous career mark. There was more to it. Before the game was ended, Lillard had 71 points after making another 3-pointer. In the last minute, he continued to try to break Klay Thompson's single-game record for 3-pointers made with 14, but he appeared exhausted and was unable to nearly do it.Lillard eventually shattered the franchise record most three-pointers made in a contest. He ended with six rebounds, six assists, and a flawless 14-of-14 free-throw shooting percentage. Nassir Little contributed 11 points and 9 rebounds off the bench, and Jerami Grant scored 13 points for Portland in the victory. The other two Trail Blazers who reached double digits were just them. Tate scored 17 points in the defeat, and Alperen Sengun added 17 points and 10 rebounds to lead Houston. Off the bench, Tari Eason ended with 15 points and 10 rebounds.