Damian Lillard needed only 29 minutes to torch the Sacramento Kings for 50 points after three quarters of mass destruction at the Golden 1 Center. But the All-Star point guard wouldn't chase the 60-point mark, already up 18 points by the end of the third period.
As Lillard took his usual fourth-quarter rest, he saw no issue with head coach Terry Stotts keeping him on the bench for the remainder of the game.
Article Continues Below“I saw we were up 20 and I was like, ‘OK, if we keep this lead there's really no reason to go back in there,'” Lillard said, according to The Associated Press via USA TODAY Sports. “I'd rather have a 50 in 29 minutes with some character than go out there and chase 60. I feel like that's bad karma.”
Lillard now joins his teammate C.J. McCollum with another efficient 50-point game this season, shooting 16-of-26 from the floor, 8-of-13 from distance, and a squeaky clean 10-of-10 from the charity stripe to net his season-high.
The Oakland native had yet to have an outburst of this magnitude during this 2017-18 season, failing to reach even the 40-point mark before Friday's game. Lillard did have 14 30-point games this season before his incandescent shooting display on the road, one that propelled the Blazers to a second straight victory.
The Blazers now hold a tiebreaker with the Oklahoma City Thunder for fifth place in the West, slowly inching their way to the top after winning six of their last 10 games. As Lillard and McCollum ramp up their play with less than 30 games left, the Blazers could pose a threat to the fourth-place Minnesota Timberwolves, sitting only two games away.