Portland Trail Blazers superstar Damian Lillard once again proved why he deserves to be mentioned in the MVP conversation this season after his performance on Tuesday night. Lillard led the Blazers to a 125-124 come-from-behind victory over the New Orleans Pelicans by dropping a 50-piece and calmly sank the clutch go-ahead free throws with 1.4 seconds to go to secure the W. With his 50-point outburst, Lillard now has a dozen 50-point games to his name, tying Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James for the seventh most such 50-point outings in the history of the NBA.
Via NBA on Twitter:
Watch the best of @Dame_Lillard's 12 50-point games!
He's now tied with LeBron James for 7th most 50-point games in NBA history. pic.twitter.com/udI2raX9Bn
— NBA (@NBA) March 17, 2021
Lillard and James trail Hall of Famer Rick Barry, who notched 14 50-point games in his career. Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan finished his career with 31 such games and is at no. 2. The top spot belongs to none other than Wilt Chamberlain, who will probably never let go of the all-time record with an insane 118 50-point outings in his career.
Aside from tying James on the all-time 50-point games list, he also joined The King in a pretty exclusive club, along with Larry Bird and Oscar Robertson. Those four are the only players in league history to score at least 15,900 and dish out 400 assists through their first nine NBA seasons.
On the season, Damian Lillard is averaging 29.6 points, 8.1 assists, and 4.3 rebounds per game for the Blazers.
Article Continues BelowPlayers in NBA history with at least 15,900 points and 4,000 assists in their first 9 seasons:
Damian Lillard
LeBron James
Larry Bird
Oscar RobertsonDame Time is on his way to the Hall of Fame ⌚️ pic.twitter.com/bC6hP01J7r
— CBS Sports HQ (@CBSSportsHQ) March 12, 2021
Lillard absolutely torched the Pelicans on Tuesday night. He shot 13 of 20 from the field and knocked down six three-pointers in the process.
Dame Time was on full display and New Orleans could not do anything to stop the six-time All-Star from leading his team to the come from behind win.
Both Lillard and James have done tremendous jobs in keeping their respective teams afloat despite having some key players down. The Blazers have been without CJ McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic, while the defending champion Lakers continue to play without superstar big man Anthony Davis.