----- Damian Lillard scored a career-high 71 points as the Portland Trail Blazers hammered the Houston Rockets 131-114 Sunday night at Moda Center in Portland, Oregon.
The Damian Lillard Show!
With Damian Lillard focused on a playoff-run and fresh off the criticism from resting Thursday night at Sacramento, he delivered an emphatic message in Portland's 131-114 victory over the Houston Rockets Sunday night at Moda Center.
Damian Lillard scored 41 in the first half and set a new career-high with 71 points and a career best 13 three-pointers. Lillard finished the night 22-of-38 from the field and a scorching 13-of-22 from beyond-the-arc, and 14-of-14 from the foul line. He added six assists and six rebounds.
With his night, Lillard became the eighth player in NBA history to score 70 or more in a game.
The Blazers controlled the game for most of the night after a 41-27 advantage in the second quarter.
Houston trailed 102-88 heading into the final quarter, but scored the first six points of the period to close the gap to 102-94. Jerami Grant’s three-pointer for Portland extended the margin to 108-98.
"We've got 23 or 22 games after this and we need to win as many as possible. Obviously being short-handed, I know it's going to be a team effort," Damian Lillard said after the game. But I know I have to do my best to be aggressive and just try to do what I can to get some wins and that's all the case was tonight, I wanted to be in attack mode, I got it going and I stayed aggressive."
Lillard’s three, his 11th of the night to tie his career high, made it 113-103 with 6:43 left. The Rockets never threatened the rest of the way.
Up Next- The Trail Blazers travel to San Francisco to meet the Warriors Tuesday night at Chase Center. The game is scheduled to tip off at 7:00 PM.
Chad's Take- 71 from Dame is ridiculous. Team might want to find some defense to add to his superb play.