Damian Lillard Produces 71 Points Masterclass as Portland Beat Rockets

• Damian Lillard produced an epic 71-point performance to help the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Houston Rockets
• The 32-year-old is now the second player to score at least 70 points this season and eighth in NBA history
• The 7x All-Star also made 13 3-pointers, one shy of the NBA record set by Klay Thompson

Damian Lillard's impressive campaign continued after he dropped 71 points to help the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Houston Rockets 131-114.

He became just the eighth player in NBA history to score 70 points in a single game. He also drained 13 3-pointers.

Lillard broke a few records with that outstanding performance. He's the oldest player in NBA history with a 70-point game.

He also became the second player to score at least 70 points in a game after Cleveland Cavaliers' Donovan Mitchell scored 71 against the Chicago Bulls on January 2.

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His 13 3-pointers were one shy of the NBA record set by Golden State Warriors sharpshooter Klay Thompson in 2018. He tied Stephen Curry (2016) and Chicago's Zach LaVine (2019), who have also made 13 three-pointers.

Lillard reacts to epic display

The 32-year-old headed to the Rockets game averaging 37.6 points in his last 18 games. The 7x All-Star began the stretch by scoring 50 points in a loss to the Cavaliers, and then he scored 60 in a win over the Utah Jazz late in January, per CBS Sports.

"I enjoy those moments in the game when I'm just going after people," Lillard said, "when I'm in attack mode...I think any hooper enjoys those moments when you're hot, you're in attack mode, you're feeling good," via ESPN.

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The future Hall of Fame point guard had 41 points and eight threes by halftime, the most by any player in a half this season. He had 50 by the start of the fourth quarter.

Incredibly, Sunday was his fifth career 60-point game. Only Chamberlain (32) and Kobe Bryant (six) have more. Lillard has 15 games with 50 or more points, the sixth most in NBA history.

Lillard wins three-point contest

Sports Brief earlier reported on Lillard winning the three-point contest in the just-concluded All-Star Game in Utah. He became the first Blazers player to win the contest.

Hield went first in the final round, scoring 25 points; therefore, Lillard needed to score 26 to win the whole thing.

The Blazers sharpshooter made 10 of his first 16 shots but needed to finish strong. Heading into the final rack, the 7x All-Star needed to make at least four threes, including his money ball shot worth two points.

He missed the first shot but made the final four to get 26 points, beating Hield's total.