LeBron James, NBA world react to Damian Lillard's 71-point performance: 'Beyond SPECIAL!!!!'

Dan Treacy

LeBron James, NBA world react to Damian Lillard's 71-point performance: 'Beyond SPECIAL!!!!' image

Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard set the NBA on fire Sunday night with 71 points in a victory over the Rockets. 

It was the fifth 60-point game of Lillard's career, placing him behind only Wilt Chamberlain and Kobe Bryant on the all-time list, and he joined another exclusive club by becoming the eighth player in NBA history to score at least 70 points in a game. 

MORE: The top 15 scoring games in NBA history

While the NBA had seen this kind of performance once already this year, from the Cavaliers' Donovan Mitchell, Lillard's was a rare kind of dominance. His 71 points are tied with Mitchell for the highest single-game total since Bryant's 81 points in 2006.

The rest of the NBA world reacted accordingly. 

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What time is it? LeBron James knows.

Mitchell and his mother are ready to one-up Lillard.

Josh Hart showed some love to his former teammate.

Lillard's coach, Chauncey Billups, called his performance "a piece of art."

Kendrick Perkins summed it up: "Beyond SPECAL!!!!"

Some love from Kevin Garnett:

Lou Williams says Lillard should give the people what they want.

Plenty of other minds blown across the NBA . . . 

And, of course, the signature "71" photo for Lillard.

Lillard shot 22 for 38 from the field, 13 for 22 on 3-pointers, and 14 for 14 from the line. He scored 41 points in the first half.

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For good measure, he became the 64th player in NBA history to reach 19,000 career points. 

Lillard is averaging 32.3 points per game this season, easily a career high.

Dan Treacy

Dan Treacy Photo

Dan Treacy is a content producer for Sporting News, joining in 2022 after graduating from Boston University. He founded @allsportsnews on Instagram in 2012 and has written for Lineups and Yardbarker.