Damian Lillard doesn’t need four quarters — he’s perfectly fine with just three of them. Yes, the Portland Trail Blazers star exploded for 50 points in 29 minutes on Friday, reaching the plateau with the final shot of the third with the game well in hand and sitting down the rest of the way.
Damian Lillard lights up Kings for 50 points in just 3 quarters
Lillard was ON FIRE.
Lillard’s final statline: 29 minutes, 50 points, 16-of-26 shooting, 8-of-13 shooting on threes, 10-of-10 from the free throw line, six assists, three steals, two turnovers, plus-18, and a win.
It’s the second time a Blazers guard has dropped 50 points in fewer than 30 minutes this season. Last week, CJ McCollum accomplished the exact same feat — 50 points, 29 minutes, and incredible efficiency. The only other player in the “more than 50 points, less than 30 minutes” club is Klay Thompson, who had a famous 60-point game last season that he also accomplished in just 29 minutes.
Lillard was just on. He was hitting deep triples, and pull-up stepbacks with people in his face. Sacramento has the worst defense in the league, but Lillard was also upping the degree of difficulty by his own volition. For example, when you hit circus layups like this ...
And when you hit 50 points with shots like this ...
Even the official Kings Twitter was shook when Lillard briefly looked like he might sub back in.
He didn’t, and finished with his 50 points. On Friday, Lillard was just too good. When he gets like that, what can you do?
