On Tuesday night, Portland Trail Blazers superstar Damian Lillard put on a performance for the ages, dropping a playoff career-high 55 points and racking up 10 assists in a double-overtime loss to the Denver Nuggets (147-140).
Lillard, living up to his “Dame Time” moniker, scored two seemingly impossible stepback three-pointers to send the game into the first, and then second, overtime.
His scoring outburst was also a historical one; he nailed 12 3-pointers in the contest, a playoff record. His 80 combined points from his own baskets and those he assisted on tied another playoff record.
Lastly, his masterpiece was historically efficient. Dame shot 17-24 from the field, and 9-10 from the free-throw line – good for a 96.8 percent true shooting percentage, the highest in playoff history.
All around the league and on social media, players voiced their utter amazement and respect for Lillard’s performance.
“I had like 4 tweets I wanted to write to describe this MASTERPIECE by Damian Lamonte Ollie Lillard Sr, but I am seriously at a loss for words…,” tweeted Brooklyn Nets superstar Kevin Durant.
“Someone gotta put this Dame Dolla performance in The Louvre!,” wrote Golden State Warriors wing Damion Lee. “This is a masterpiece!”
“It was kind of a pleasure to be on the court just to witness that,” admitted Nuggets leader Nikola Jokic.
“The degree of difficulty in which he hit some of those shots is god-like,” said teammate CJ McCollum.
However, while all across the league those in the NBA community were singing his praises, Lillard shrugged off his accomplishments after the game. Looking to avoid his second consecutive first-round exit from the playoffs, the 30-year-old was more concerned with the fact that his team wasn’t able to pull out the victory.
“Doesn’t matter,” Lillard said of his performance. “We lost the game. I mean, at this point, all that matters is that we can’t lose another game in this series.”
The Blazers and Nuggets play Game 6 on Thursday, June 3 at 8:00 EST.
