Damian Lillard put forth a ridiculous 61-point performance on Tuesday for the Portland Trail Blazers, with the 6-foot-2 point guard capping off his effort with a miraculous 3-pointer late in the game to lead his side to a 134-131 victory against the Dallas Mavericks. For his part, Blazers veteran Carmelo Anthony admitted that he was praying to the gods as Lillard's shot bounced high off the back of the rim before it somehow came back down through the net.

Melo added that he knew the Blazers were destined to win after Lillard sank that incredible trey:

In case you missed it, here is Lillard's miracle shot against the Mavs:

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Lillard himself was unsure if his shot was going to go in, but when it did, the All-Star guard knew that it was his late cousin that guided that shot in for him:

Lillard scored those 61 points on 17-of-32 shooting, with nine 3-pointers and a perfect 18-of-18 mark from the charity stripe. He rounded out his performance with five rebounds, eight assists, and a steal.

This was a huge victory for the Blazers, as they have now officially overtaken the Memphis Grizzlies for the eighth seed in the Western Conference. Nevertheless, a postseason spot is anything but guaranteed for the Blazers at this point, with the Grizzlies, the surging Phoenix Suns, and the San Antonio Spurs all just half a game behind them. It's extremely tight at the bottom of the West right now, but there's no denying that the Blazers have the momentum going for them.