Rockets Coach Stephen Silas Left Disappointed By Damian Lillard's 71-Point Performance
Damian Lillard had one of the best-scoring performances in league history Sunday night inside the Moda Center.
Unfortunately, Lillard's historic night came at the expense of the Houston Rockets. The Rockets dropped their ninth consecutive game in a 131-114 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers.
Lillard scored a career-high 71 points on 22-of-38 shooting, 13-of-22 from behind the arc. And his career performance left Rockets' coach Stephen Silas "disappointed."
"We were doing all kinds of stuff to get the ball out of his hands," Silas said. "We were blitzing him in the pick-and-rolls. We trapped him. But, we just struggled to guard him."
Silas said the Rockets gave effort on the defensive end, but he credited Lillard for making several tough shots. When he wasn't scoring from the outside, Silas said Lillard attacked the Rockets downhill.
His first basket of the night took place at the 10:13 mark of the first quarter on a layup attempt around Alperen Sengun. Lillard had 41 points by halftime, which included eight made 3-point field goals.
He scored 14 points during the last two minutes of the second quarter. With less than a minute left in the first half, Lillard drilled his longest triple of the night from 36 feet.
"There were some mistakes, but he was just hot," Silas said. "Dame was hot, shooting from half-court. Every time we were not up into him, he was making them. He just had a great game."
Lillard became the ninth player in league history to join the 70-point club. His 71-point performance set a Rockets' franchise record for the most points scored by an opponent.
Hall-of-Famer Allen Iverson held the record for most points scored against the Rockets. He scored a then career-high 58 points to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 112-106 victory in January 2002.
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