Wrapping up the huge 14-game slate on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the Golden State Warriors and the Portland Trail Blazers, both shorthanded, provided an entertaining overtime contest.
With CJ McCollum out with an ankle injury, Damian Lillard took over, going off for a career-high and franchise-record 61 points. More importantly, when it was needed, he stepped up and knocked down clutch shots.
First, in regulation to force overtime. Then, in the extra period he knocked down a late triple to fuel a Blazers run:
🚨 Damian Lillard drills his career-high 11th triple to get to 57 PTS! 🚨@warriors 121@trailblazers 123
— NBA (@NBA) January 21, 2020
34.6 to play on @NBAonTNT pic.twitter.com/LRtydG39EM
In the final seconds, he sealed the game by knocking down a pair of clutch free-throws. Over the last two minutes of overtime, Lillard scored seven of the team's game-sealing 14-3 run.
Lillard's 61 points is a single-game scoring record for Marting Luther King Jr. Day. En route to 61, he knocked down a franchise record and career-high 11 three-pointers.
He is the first player in NBA history to score at least 60 points and also knock down at least 10 threes in the game.
That's not all. With his 10 rebounds and seven assists, the 29-year-old put his name alongside some elite company:
Historic performance. Historic company.
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 21, 2020
Dame put on a show ⌚️ pic.twitter.com/oueDcfmpMt
Lillard's onslaught was one of just three times the Warriors have been on the receiving end of a 60-point game. This was his second 60-point game of the season after earlier dropping 60 in a loss against the Nets in Brooklyn.
Although he did a lot of the heavy lifting, Hassan Whiteside supported Lillard's heroic performance with a valuable stat line of 17 points, 21 rebounds, and six blocks.
For the Warriors, D'Angelo Russell and Alec Burks led the way with near triple-double performances. Russell finished with 27 points, nine assists, and eight rebounds, while Burks racked up 33 points, eight assists, and seven rebounds.
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