While the
NBA
2022-23 goes through the final stretch of the regular season and the different franchises seek to ensure their place in the playoffs that will begin in mid-April,
the current season of American basketball is marked by the records
that are happening or by those brands that, without being top, are just as impressive.
LeBron James completed the feat of surpassing
Kareem Abdul Jabbar
's records less than a month ago
, on Saturday the second game with the most points scored in the history of the competition took place
(Los Angeles Clippers 175-176 Sacramento Kings,
only surpassed by the Detroit Pistons 184-186 over Denver Nuggets in 1983) and the one on Sunday, February 26, 2023 was
Damian Lillard
's dream night
in charge of marking history.
The Portland Trail Blazers beat the Houston Rockets 131-114 and
Lillard signed the best performance of his career: he scored 71 points, gave 6 assists and grabbed 6 rebounds
during the 39 minutes he was on the court.
Lillard is recognized by his peers after shining in Portland.
AP/Steve Dykes.
His
enormous scoring record on Sunday night ranks him as the
fourth most scored player in a single game in NBA history.
He is surpassed only by
Wilt Chamberlain
(100),
Kobe Bryant
(81) and
David Thompson
(73), while he is tied with the 71 ever shot by Elgin Baylor, David Robinson and Donovan Mitchell.
It should also be noted that Chamberlain made 78 once, 73 two other times and 72 once.
The Blazers leader finished 22 of 38 from the field and 13 of 22 from 3-point range, leaving him
just one 3-pointer shy of Klay Thompson's record (14).
As it is, he shares second place in this stat along with Stephen Curry and Zachary LaVine.
Lillard, who won the All-Star Game 3-point contest last week
,
lit up the night in Portland with an outstanding performance.
He left with 41 points at halftime, after signing 16 in the first quarter and 25 in the second, and continued his monologue at the restart with 9 points in the third period and 21 in the fourth for a total of 71.
Interestingly, less than two months ago
Donovan Mitchell
had made the same amount in the Cleveland Cavaliers' 145-134 win against the Chicago Bulls.
Further back in time, you have to travel to January 22, 2006 to find a higher record, when
Kobe Bryant
shone with 81 points against the Toronto Raptors.
Lillard made himself indefensible for the Houston Rockets.
AP/Steve Dykes.
Lillard
signed his fifth game with more than 60 points and surpassed the best mark of his career, which was 61 (against the Dallas Mavericks and Golden State Warriors in 2020).
He hit from all areas of the field and showed off with spectacular penetrations.
The 32-year-old point guard led the Blazers
scoring more than half of the points of his team, which now ranks eleventh in the Western Conference with a record of 29 wins and 31 losses and is fighting against the Minnesota Timberwolves (31-32) for a place in the play-ins.
"There are 22 or 23 games left for the end of the season and we have to give everything to add as many victories as possible
," he said at the end of the game.
"I wanted to be aggressive and played in 'attack mode,'"
added the star of the night at Portland's Moda Center.
+70 points in an NBA game
The night of the 100 points, Chamberlain's record for now unattainable.
Wilt Chamberlain: 100 points.
Kobe Bryan: 81 points.
Wilt Chamberlain: 78 points.
Wilt Chamberlain: 73 points.
(twice)
David Thompson: 73 points.
Wilt Chamberlain: 72 points.
Damian Lillard: 71 points.
Donovan Mitchell: 71 points.
David Robinson: 71 points.
Elgin Baylor: 71 points.
Devin Booker: 70 pts.
look also
Sadness, anger and discomfort in the Argentine National Team after being left out of the Basketball World Cup: "It will be hard to see it on TV"
The revenge of "Che" García: from his controversial departure from the Argentine National Team to leaving it without a World Cup after more than four decades
Argentina fell with the Dominican Republic of Che García and was left out of the Basketball World Cup