One could argue that Damian Lillard is simply one of the most underrated players in the NBA. If he played in New York, the lights of Los Angeles, or the hot Miami sun, everybody would know all about him. Instead, he plays in the Pacific Northwest, in relative obscurity.
On Tuesday night, Lillard once again delivered jaw-dropping greatness in a 125-124 Trail Blazers win over the New Orleans Pelicans. Lillard’s line was 50 points, 10 assists, and six rebounds. Ok, so Lillard has had 50 points in a game before (11 times in fact), so why was this 50-point game so special?
Well, you have to put the game into context. On Tuesday, the Trail Blazers were actually trailing the Pelicans 115-98 with six minutes and 53 seconds left in the fourth quarter. That is when Lillard went on an offensive tear which was simply magical. He scored 16 points in this time frame (59.3% of the total Trail Blazers offense), in delivering the amazing comeback. Portland outscored New Orleans 27-9 to end the game and beat the Pelicans by a single point. Lillard meanwhile scored the final six Portland points on free throws, including the last two with 1.2 seconds left.
There were some other notable statistics from the game. Lillard’s 50 points came on only 20 field goal attempts, the third-fewest attempts by any NBA player with 50 points in a game according to nba.com. He also became only the fourth player ever to have 50 points and 10 assists in a game at least thrice.
The only two players to have 50+ points in fewer than 20 attempts were Adrian Dantley of the Utah Jazz and Willie Burton of the Philadelphia 76ers. Dantley had 50 points on only 17 field goal attempts in a 144-122 Jazz win over the Dallas Mavericks on October 31, 1980. Burton had 53 points on only 19 field goal attempts in a 105-90 76ers win over the Miami Heat on December 13, 1994.
Meanwhile, the other three players to record 50 points and 10 assists in a game are James Harden, Nate Archibald and Russell Westbrook. Harden has accomplished the feat eight times, while Westbrook and Archibald have also done it thrice.
Lillard’s career-high was 61 points. He accomplished the feat not just once, but twice in 2019-20. The first time came in a 129-124 Trail Blazers overtime win over the Golden State Warriors on January 20, and the second time came in a 134-131 Trail Blazers win over the Dallas Mavericks on August 11.
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