NBA Top Five Performances, Feb. 26: Damian Lillard Unleashed Against Houston Rockets with 71-Point Performance

TOP PLAYER OF THE DAY:

Damian Lillard recently responded to a suggestion that the Portland Trail Blazers should tank the rest of the season.

No way https://t.co/Bd21JnGV9w
— Damian Lillard (@Dame_Lillard) February 24, 2023

Lillard followed this up with one of the best performances in league history against the Houston Rockets. Lillard had a career-high 71 points, becoming just the eighth player to have a 70-point game. He had 13 3-pointers, just one shy of Klay Thompson’s NBA record. Nobody else on the Blazers scored more than 13 points.

Lillard gets criticized for his lack of championships but games like this show his playmaking and team loyalty.

“It's always a pleasure to have these types of moments at home,” Lillard said. “I can’t express how much it means and how much I enjoy being part of a team. I think that’s something that doesn’t get talked about enough.”

OTHERS:

- Jrue Holiday had 33 points in the Milwaukee Bucks’ 14th straight win, including their second consecutive victory without star Giannis Antetokounmpo.

- Trae Young had 34 points against the Brooklyn Nets, including the game-winning buzzer beater to give the Atlanta Hawks their second consecutive victory.

- Anthony Davis’ 30-point performance helped the Lakers overcome a 27-point deficit against the Dallas Mavericks. It was the Lakers largest comeback since 2002, and the first time a team won this season after being down 27+ points.

- Nikola Jokic added to his MVP campaign with 40 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists in the Denver Nuggets’ overtime victory against the Los Angeles Clippers. It was his 99th career triple double, putting him seven games behind LeBron James for the fifth-most in NBA history.

Jayden Armant is a contributor to Inside the Heat. He is a student at Howard University. He can be reached at jayden.armant@bison.howard.edu or follow him on Twitter @jaydenarmant.