Damian Lillard scores 61 points in a game again

For the second time this season, Damian Lillard of Oakland, California notched 61 points in a single game. The all-star point guard reached that mark in a 134-131 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday. With the win, the Trail Blazers improved to a record of 34 wins and 39 losses, and remain in the thick of things for a playoff spot in the Western Conference.

In the 265-point shootout in the Orlando bubble, Lillard made 17 of 32 field goal attempts, made nine of 17 three-point attempts, and was perfect from the charity stripe, as he made all 18 of his attempted free throws. Lillard also had eight assists, five rebounds, and one steal.

Lillard previously had 61 points in a 129-124 win over the Golden State Warriors on January 20. He also scored 60 points in a 119-115 loss to the Brooklyn Nets on November 8, 2019. The only other player to reach 60 points this season is James Harden of the Houston Rockets. The native of Los Angeles, California had 60 points in a dominant 158-111 Rockets win over the Atlanta Hawks on November 30.

Lillard also becomes only the second NBA player ever to have three 60 point games in a single season according to ESPN. The only other player to achieve that mark was the great Wilt Chamberlain of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who had an astounding 15 60-point games with the Philadelphia Warriors in 1961-62, and then had nine 60-point games with the San Francisco Warriors in 1962-63. While with the Philadelphia Warriors on March 2, 1962, Wilt Chamberlain made basketball history by becoming the only player ever to record 100 points in a single game. Philadelphia defeated the New York Knicks 169-147.

Meanwhile, Lillard and the Trail Blazers are now in eighth place in the West. They lead the Memphis Grizzlies and Phoenix Suns by half a game each, and the San Antonio Spurs by a full game. The eighth and ninth place teams in the Western Conference at the end of the regular season will play a playoff to determine who gets the eighth seed.

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