Damian Lillard continues impressive hot streak

Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers is continuing to successfully shoot basketballs in the net at a prolific pace. On Saturday, Lillard of Oakland, California, registered his fourth 50 point game of the season as the Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Utah Jazz 124-107 at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon.

Lillard had 51 points, 12 assists, two rebounds and one steal in the 17 point Portland win. He was one of two Trail Blazers to have a double double as Hassan Whiteside of Gastonia, North Carolina had 17 points and 21 rebounds. Two other Trail Blazers reached double digits in scoring as Carmelo Anthony of Brooklyn, New York had 15 points and CJ McCollum of Canton, Ohio had 14 points. It should be worth noting that even though Trevor Ariza of Miami, Florida only had six points for the Trail Blazers, he was a very impressive +20.

Lillard’s other 50 point performances this season came on November 8 in a 119-115 Portland loss to the Brooklyn Nets (60 points), on January 20 in a 129-124 win over the Golden State Warriors (61 points) and on January 26 in a 139-129 win over the Indiana Pacers (50 points). In the loss to Brooklyn, the Trail Blazers got 84 points from their five starters, and 60 points came from Lillard.

On the season, Lillard is averaging 29.8 points per game. That is a career high.

There is no doubt that the Trail Blazers are starting to gel as a unit. They currently have the longest winning streak in the Western Conference. In addition to their wins over the Pacers and Jazz, during the streak, the Trail Blazers upset the Houston Rockets 125-112 on January 29 and shocked the Los Angeles Lakers (in the Lakers first game since Kobe Bryant’s death) 127-119 on January 31.

Portland is now only two games back of the Memphis Grizzlies for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. The Grizzlies are at 25 wins and 25 losses, while the Trail Blazers are at 23 wins and 27 losses.