Damian Lillard tied the NBA season record of 71 points, hitting 13 three-pointers

>> NBA basketball game Portland-Houston, Feb. 26, 2023. From left, Portland's Damian Lillard and Jabari Smith Jr. from Houston.

Portland – Basketball player Damian Lillard became the eighth player in NBA history to surpass the seventy-point mark, Portland led 71 points to a 131-114 victory over Houston. He thus equaled Donovan Mitchell's season scoring record, and with 13 three-pointers, he took care of the second best performance in the history of the competition. Only Klay Thompson made one more 3-pointer in 2018.

Advertisement'; }

Photo gallery: Basketball NBA 2022/23

It was Lillard's 15th career game in which he scored over 50 points, which ranks him sixth in all-time. So far, his and the club's maximum was 61 points. This time he already had 41 points at halftime, and when he left the field with 44 seconds left, 71 points were shining on his name. Only David Thompson (73), Kobe Bryant (81) and Wilt Chamberlain (72, 73, 73, 78 and 100) scored more. However, Lillard is the first player to ever break the 70-point mark to play less than 40 minutes in a game.

Only nine times in history has a player made more than 12 three-pointers in a game. And three times this February. It was Golden State's Klay Thompson twice, who did the same against Houston on Friday as he did for Lillard on Sunday. For the second time in a row, the Rockets defense did not defend players on the perimeter and conceded over 20 three-pointers. Lillard again did not hesitate to raise the shot from a long distance, once he hit from almost half the court.

“I love these moments when I'm in attack mode and I'm hitting one shot after another,” said Lillard, who recently dominated the 3-pointer contest in the All-Star Game. “Every player likes to get into the groove. I then feel that whatever I do, it will be successful,” he added. He had to take a doping test immediately after the match of his life. “For me, it's terrible because I hate needles. I have tattoos, but taking blood is something else entirely. I pass out,” he revealed.

Milwaukee won for the fourteenth time in a row, Phoenix won 104:101 even without its injured star Janis Adetokunba. The Bucks thus lose a single win to the leader of the Eastern Conference and the entire competition, Boston, and have a game to spare. Jrue Holiday led the win with 33 points, Brook Lopez added 22 points and 13 rebounds. Devin Booker scored 24 points for the Suns, who are still missing the injured Kevin Durant.

Trae Young's shot in the last second gave Atlanta a 129-127 victory over Brooklyn. The Hawks won their second game under interim coach Joe Prunty, who took over after the dismissed Nate McMillan. However, he will once again return to an assistant role when new coach Quin Snyder takes over the team today. Prunty didn't give Vít Krejčí a chance this time.

The Czech representative watched from the bench as Brooklyn erased an eight-point deficit in the last 73 seconds and tied the score at 127:127. But then Young saved the game for Atlanta: he lined up a shot at the free-throw line, let the defender fly by, and then made the shot. He totaled 34 points, Dejounte Murray added 28. “I've been counting down the last seconds since I was six years old. I've been imagining these situations since I was a kid. It's nothing new to me,” Young said.

The Los Angeles Lakers won the third game in a row after drastic changes in the staff. In Dallas, they succeeded 111:108, despite losing by up to 27 points. They thus took care of the biggest club turnover in the last 21 years. Anthony Davis hit the key shot 18 seconds before the end, who was the best scorer with 30 points and 15 rebounds. LeBron James added 26 points as did Luka Doncic for Dallas. Kyrie Irving had 21 points for the Mavericks.

Defending champions Golden State won 109:104 over Minnesota, which was also weakened, even in a weakened lineup without three starters. Klay Thompson led the win with 32 points.

Denver beat the Los Angeles Clippers 134-124 in overtime. Although the Clippers overcame an 18-point deficit, they ran out of steam in the set five-minute period after playing double overtime with Sacramento in the previous game. Nikola Jokic led Denver to victory, scoring 40 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists. Kawhi Leonard led the Clippers with 33 points.

The results of Sunday's NBA games:

Atlanta – Brooklyn 129:127, Chicago – Washington 102:82, Cleveland – Toronto 118:93, Dallas – LA Lakers 108:111, Denver – LA Clippers 134:124 after overtime ., Golden State – Minnesota 109:104, Milwaukee – Phoenix 104:101, Oklahoma City – Sacramento 115:124, Portland – Houston 131:114.

NBA Standings:

East conference,

Atlantic Division:

< td>56.7

Central Division:

Southeast Division:

Western Conference,

Southwest Division:

< td>49.2

Northwest Division:

Pacific Division: