An historic 71-point outburst courtesy of All-Star guard Damian Lillard has steered the Trail Blazers to a 131-114 over Houston as they eye a climb up the standings in pursuit of a play-in berth.
Lillard finished with a franchise-record 71 points on 22-of-38 from the field, 13-of-22 from three, and 14-of-14 from the line to go along with six rebounds and six assists.
He becomes the first Trail Blazer and eighth player ever to reach 70 points in a single game as well as the first Trail Blazer and fourth player ever to hit 13 threes in a single game.
The 32-year-old also becomes the oldest player to join the 70-point club.
It marked the fifth 60-point game of his career – the third-highest tally of all-time behind Wilt Chamberlain and Kobe Bryant.
Lillard bested his previous career-high of 61 and is now in possession of the six highest-scoring individual performances in Trail Blazers history and 15 of the top 20.
Lillard surpassed Hall of Famer Clyde Drexler to become the Trail Blazers’ all-time leading scorer earlier this season.
It also marks the first time in NBA history that multiple players have dropped 70-point games in the same season with Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell also putting together a 71-point night earlier in the year.
Lillard had 41 points on 8-of-11 from three at halftime in one of the most eye-popping halves in recent memory.
He dropped just nine points in the third quarter on 3-of-7 shooting before detonating for 21 fourth-quarter points to reach the magic 71-mark.
The Trail Blazers are now half-a-game back of the 10th-seeded Pelicans and will travel to San Francisco to face the Warriors on Wednesday.
