Damian Lillard is ridiculous. The Portland Trail Blazers’ superstar scored 42 points and dished out 12 assists in a thrilling 134-133 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday night in the bubble.
42 POINTS. 12 ASSISTS. 8 TRIPLES.@Dame_Lillard and the @trailblazers clinch the top seed in the Western Conference Play-In! #WholeNewGame pic.twitter.com/D41IE8NoR0
— NBA (@NBA) August 14, 2020
And it was a crucial victory. With the win, the Trail Blazers clinch the Western Conference’s No. 8 seed, and now will have a play-in series with the No. 9 Memphis Grizzlies for the right to face the No. 1 Los Angeles Lakers.
With under 11 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Portland trailed by seven. That’s when Dame decided to break out the logo three (one of his eight threes on the night), and he casually nailed it.
Logo Lillard is back at it ⌚️ pic.twitter.com/A5JxPhDHC5
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) August 14, 2020
That man just pulled up from half court 😂😂😂 @Dame_Lillard
— Patrick Mahomes II (@PatrickMahomes) August 14, 2020
It wasn’t just offense for Lillard in this game either. The five-time All-Star made an incredible steal that led to a C.J. McCollum bucket, which gave Portland a 134-130 lead with 53.4 seconds remaining.
Dame steal. CJ bucket. 🤯 pic.twitter.com/YYyRVO3BKE
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) August 14, 2020
But back to the offense, because it’s been an absolutely absurd run for Lillard to finish the regular season. Over the last three games, Lillard scored 154 freakin’ points: 51 on Aug. 9 vs the Philadelphia 76ers, 61 on Aug. 11 vs the Dallas Mavericks, and 42 on Thursday. No player in NBA history had scored 154 points in the final three games of a season. No player had even scored 40-plus points in three straight games to finish a season.
Damian Lillard's scoring totals in the Blazers last three games:
51, 61, 42.His 154 points are the most any player has scored in their final three games of a season.
He is also the first player in NBA history to end the regular season with 3 straight 40-point games. pic.twitter.com/SPIdWKPN2x
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) August 14, 2020
What Damian Lillard did during the seeding games is something we'll remember forever. What a special run.
— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) August 14, 2020
All three games were Blazers wins, all by three points or fewer. Lillard put this team on his back and carried them to the No. 8 seed.
The play-in series against the Grizzlies begins on Saturday. If the Blazers win that game, the series is over. The Grizzlies would need to win on both Saturday and Sunday to advance.