One night after claiming a big road win on an emotional night at STAPLES Center, the Portland Trail Blazers continued their uptick in form by defeating the Utah Jazz, 124-107.
The win was secured on the back of yet another incredible performance by Damian Lillard, as the All-Star guard pieced together another classic performance.
Coming into the night, Lillard was averaging 48.4 points and 9.8 assists on 56.3 percent shooting from the perimeter over his last five games.
Rather than stick to those averages, all Lillard did was drop 51 points and dish out 11 assists, while connecting on nine of his fifteen attempts from behind the 3-point line.
The Moda Center crowd showered Lillard with MVP chants as he reached the 50-point mark with a free-throw late in the fourth quarter, before the Blazers intentionally fouled so he could exit the game to a standing ovation.
Damian Lillard (51 PTS, 9 3PM) scores 47+ for the 5th time in 6 games and becomes the 1st player in NBA history to make 6+ threes in 6 straight games. pic.twitter.com/9JmLekPjnd
— NBA (@NBA) February 2, 2020
Lillard claimed another record in the process, becoming the first player in NBA history to knock down at least six triples in six straight games.
By Lillard's recent standards, he got off to a modest start in this one, registering just 10 points with four minutes left in the first half. What followed could only be described at vintage Dame.
The superstar Portland guard would score 13 points over the final 3:58 of the second quarter, including three treys, before adding 16 more points in the first 8:30 of the third.
29 points in 12:28 of play. Just absurd.
“I’ve never been in this type of rhythm in my life” @dame_lillard talks to @BrookeOlzendam in tonight's @biofreeze Top Performance Review. pic.twitter.com/rKWr07dIXR
— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) February 2, 2020
In that stretch, the Blazers turned a five point defictit into a 15 point lead, outscoring the Jazz 43-23, and they never looked back on their way to claiming impressive back-to-back wins.
For the Jazz, Donovan Mitchell had 25 points and Bojan Bogdanovic added 22 points on 11 shots, but they simply couldn't handle the firepower of Lillard on the other end.
Mike Conley Jr. returned to the Utah starting lineup for the first time since mid-December, finishing with 22 points, four rebounds and four assists in his best showing since returning from a lengthy absence with injury.
This night belonged to Lillard however, with the 29-year-old now registering point totals of 61, 47, 50, 36, 48 and 51 over his last six games. Absolute video game stuff.
Portland have won five of those six, and now sit just 1.5 games out of the eigth seed in the Western Conference. Remarkable.
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