‘Was I supposed to be excited?’: Humble Lillard drops Portland record 71 points
The celebration surrounding Damian Lillard’s record-breaking performance was short-lived.
Lillard set franchise and career marks with 71 points – tied for the most in the NBA this season – and 13 threepointers in the Portland Trail Blazers’ 131 -114 victory over the Houston Rockets on Sunday night.
“I enjoy those moments in the game when I’m just going after people,” Lillard said, “when I’m in attack mode.”
But soon after the streamers fell to the court and the crowd headed for the exits, Lillard was summoned for a drug test. To make matters worse, the seventime All-Star who is unafraid of taking a three-pointer from half court is afraid of needles.
“I know I’ve got a lot of tattoos, but when you’re doing a blood draw, it’s different from tattoos. It brought me down from here to the floor,” Lillard said gesturing with his hand raised then dropping it.
Lillard’s 13 three-pointers were one shy of the NBA record set by Golden State’s Klay Thompson in 2018. Thompson’s Warriors teammate Stephen Curry (2016) and Chicago’s Zach LaVine (2019) have also made 13 threes in a single game.
Lillard broke his own Portland record of 61 points.
Known for his humility, Lillard was unsure how to mark the occasion.
“I think any hooper enjoys those moments when you’re hot, you’re in attack mode, you’re feeling good,” Lillard said. “But it’s the stuff afterward that I struggle with, like when I walked off the court, was I supposed to be overly excited, or what?”
In the final minutes of the game, the crowd at the Moda Center was on its feet, phones recording the moment, while chanting “MVP! MVP!”
“It really, really was a masterful performance,” Blazers coach Chauncey Billups said. “It was a piece of art. That was incredible.”
Even Donovan Mitchell, who also scored 71 points this season, took notice.
“My mom calls me and says @Dame_Lillard tied your record … you gotta get 72 now,” Mitchell posted on Twitter with some laughing emojis.
Lillard left the game with 44 seconds left, tied with Mitchell, Elgin Baylor (1960) and David Robinson (1994) for the eighth-most points scored in a game in NBA history. Wilt Chamberlain owns the league record with 100 for Philadelphia against New York in March 1962.