Damian Lillard Has Historic Game Against Timberwolves On Monday Night
Very few players in the NBA are able to score 30-plus points and even fewer are able to make double-digit threes in a single game.
Well, very few players in NBA history have been like Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard.
On Monday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Lillard may not have had a massive scoring night like we have seen from him, but he still scored 38 points, marking his sixth 30-point game of the season and third consecutive game with at least 36 points.
The most impressive part of his performance against Minnesota on Monday night though was the fact that Lillard scored 38 points on 11-17 shooting from three-point range in just three quarters.
Lillard’s 11 made three-pointers are the most by a player in a single game this season and he tied his career-high for made threes in a game. This also marks the third time in Lillard’s career that he has made 11 threes in a game, making him the second player in league history to achieve this feat on three separate occasions.
The only player he trails now is Stephen Curry, who has made at least 11 three-pointers in a game 12 different times.
While the crowd at Moda Center urged head coach Chauncey Billups to put his star guard back in the game following the third quarter, Billups did not budge, as the Trail Blazers led the Timberwolves by 22 points after three quarters and they ended up winning this game by 21 points.
“Nah. If he was five points from his career high, then maybe.” Billups told reporters after the game when asked if he was tempted to put Lillard back in the game. “But this game is a tough game. Sometimes you’re going to be on the good side of that, sometimes you’re going to be on the bad side of that. You’ve got to be able to respect your opponent.”
Billups also went on to say that Lillard could use the extra rest he received during the fourth quarter while the Blazers were blowing out the Timberwolves.
Since returning from a grade one strain to the soleus muscle in the right lower leg that kept him sidelined for seven games, Damian Lillard has played in four games and has recorded at least 36 points in three of those four games, including a 40-point, 12-assist night last Thursday against the Denver Nuggets.
Lillard has made his intentions to compete for a title in Portland very clear through the years and he has not been afraid to say that he believes this team has a chance to do so.
Now 15-12 on the season, the Trail Blazers are right in the middle of the playoff picture in the Western Conference and they will now begin a six-game road trip on Wednesday against the San Antonio Spurs.
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