Any time a player scores 55 points in a game, you would think it would be good enough to win. That is not always the case, as we saw from Damian Lillard and the Trail Blazers last night. Lillard was sensational as he dominated the Denver Nuggets defense, but Denver came away with the W. Let us see where Lillard ranks among the top six players in NBA history when it comes to most points for a player in a playoff game whose team loses.
4) Ray Allen–On April 30, 2009, Allen scored 51 points for the Boston Celtics in a narrow 128-127 loss to the Chicago Bulls. This was game six of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals. The Celtics win game seven of the series 109-99, as Allen scored 23 points in the series-clinching game.
4) LeBron James–On May 31, 2018, James scored 51 points for the Cleveland Cavaliers in their 124-114 loss to the Golden State Warriors. This was game one of the 2018 NBA Finals, a series Golden State swept in four games. It would be the last playoff series James would play with Cleveland before he joined the Los Angeles Lakers.
4) Russell Westbrook–On April 19, 2017, Westbrook scored 51 points for the Oklahoma City Thunder in game two of the Western Conference quarterfinal series, a 115-111 Houston Rockets win. The Rockets would win the series four games to one, and would acquire Westbrook from the Thunder in a trade for Chris Paul in 2019.
3) Damian Lillard–Here is where we find Lillard, the Trail Blazers star point guard. The accurate and clutch shot making from Lillard was remarkable, but his 55 points were not enough as Portland lost 147-140 to the Nuggets in double overtime in game five. With the win, Denver took a three games to two lead in the Western Conference quarterfinal series.
2) Donovan Mitchell–Just last year in the Orlando bubble, Donovan Mitchell of the Utah Jazz had 57 points for Utah in a 135-125 loss to the Nuggets. This was game one of the 2020 Western Conference quarterfinal series, a series Denver came back to win in seven games after being down three games to one.
1)Michael Jordan–Before the Chicago Bulls were dominant as a team, Michael Jordan was dominant one night against the Boston Celtics. Jordan scored 63 points in a 135-131 Bulls loss in game two of the 1986 Eastern Conference quarterfinals. The 63 points Jordan scored on April 20, 1986, would be the most points one player has ever scored in a single playoff game. The Celtics swept the Bulls in a time when the first round was a best of five. Boston would go on to win the 1986 NBA Finals in six games over the Rockets.
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