Damian Lillard's scorching run enters historic territory with 51-point night vs. Jazz
Dame Time has turned into a Dame Fortnight.
Damian Lillard torched the Utah Jazz for 51 points on Saturday in Portland’s 124-107 win, adding to a ridiculous six-game stretch for the All-Star point guard.
That’s his third game with 50-plus points in his last six, and it came one night after his 48-point performance in front of an emotionally charged Staples Center crowd on Kobe night.
This stretch is unbelievable for many reasons and, in some ways, it’s downright history-making.
Per @EliasSports, Damian Lillard is the first player in NBA history to average 45 points and 10 assists over a 6-game span. pic.twitter.com/hjeqriYD4s
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) February 2, 2020
Here are Lillard’s last six games:
Saturday vs. Utah: 51 points, 2 rebounds, 12 assists
Friday at Lakers: 48 points, 9 rebounds, 10 assists
Wednesday vs. Houston: 36 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists
Jan. 26 vs. Indiana: 50 points, 6 rebounds, 13 assists
Jan. 23 vs. Dallas: 47 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists
Jan. 20 vs. Golden State: 61 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists
Put that all together and you get averages of 48.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 10.2 assists per game.
Let that sink in.
And it’s not like it’s all volume scoring either. He’s shooting nearly 55 percent in those games and has drained a staggering 49 threes. He’s the first player in league history to make at least six 3-pointers in six consecutive games, per the NBA.
Even better news for Lillard: The Blazers won five of those six games, which puts them just 1 1/2 games behind the Grizzlies for the eighth playoff spot in the West.
It’s unrealistic to expect him to continue putting up numbers like these going forward, but he is averaging 29.4 points and 7.8 assists on the season so this recent surge in production bodes well for Portland.
Dame Time just might make its way back into the postseason.
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