Blazers Star Damian Lillard Gets Drug Tested After Dropping 71 Points vs. Rockets

Blazers Star Damian Lillard Gets Drug Tested After Dropping 71 Points vs. Rockets

Edwin Kiplagat
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:26 PM
  • Portland Trail Blazers star guard Damian Lillard scored a career-best 71 points in the team's 131-114 victory over the Houston Rockets
  • He set several records, including setting the Blazers' franchise record for most points scored by a player in a game
  • He also tied Donovan Mitchell for the most points scored in a game this season

Portland Trail Blazers superstar Damian Lillard produced a performance of the ages, scoring a career-high 71 points against the Houston Rockets.

After the game, the 32-year-old was required to take a blood-drawn drug test by the NBA, and he wasn't happy about it.

Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers, NBA
Damian Lillard is arguably a top 10 player this season. Photos by Alika Jenner.
Source: Getty Images

With that epic display, the 7x All-Star became just the eighth player in NBA history to score at least 70 points in a game. Furthermore, he tied Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell for the most points in an NBA game this season. Mitchell dropped 71 against the Chicago Bulls earlier this year.

He went 22-of-38 from the field, including 13-of-22 from the three-point line, while also sinking 14 free throws. He was close to breaking Klay Thompson's record of 14 threes in a game, per CBS Sports.

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Lillard on drug testing

He revealed it was the first time he had been drug tested immediately after the game, per NBC Sports.

“I was like, ‘Are y’all serious?’” Lillard said. “I did the urine test yesterday, and then they backed it up with the blood drawn tonight after the game – that’s actually the first time in my career being tested after a game.”

The recently crowned three-point contest admitted his fear of needles.

“They know that I'm scared of needles," Lillard said. "I know I got a lot of tattoos, but when you doing a blood draw it's different than tattoos.”

According to the collective bargaining agreement between the NBA and the league's players association, players are subjected to four random tests for “prohibited substances" during the season and two during the offseason.

Lillard composes new rap song

Sports Brief earlier reported on Lillard making a new rap song when their flight to Sacramento was delayed.

The veteran point guard took his time to write and perform a rap song, then posted the video online, which went viral.

The lyrics of the song featured shoutouts to Drew Eubanks, Trendon Watford, and Matisse Thybulle, but the 32-year-old hinted that he had more teammates' references in the pipeline

The Blazers legend has released four albums under the moniker Dame D.O.L.L.A. His first album, The Letter "O," was released in 2016, followed by Confirmed in 2017, Big D.O.L.L.A in 2019, and Different On Levels The Lord Allowed in 2021.

Authors
Edwin Kiplagat photo
Edwin Kiplagat
Edwin Kiplagat has five years of experience in journalism working as a Sports Editor at Africa Insight Communications and ESPN. Edwin Kiplagat is a Bachelor's Degree holder in journalism from the Multimedia University of Kenya.