Damian Lillard matches LeBron James with his latest statistical accolade originally appeared on NBC Sports Northwest
On Tuesday night, Damian Lillard led the Portland Trail Blazers to a come-from-behind victory over the New Orleans Pelicans. The Blazers scored 43 fourth-quarter points to earn a 125-124 win and improve to 23-16 on the season.
During the contest, Lillard was on fire. He made 65 percent of his shots, all 18 of his free throw attempts, and scored a season-high 50 points to carry Portland to the win.
And in doing so, Lillard reached another statistical milestone.
Congrats to @Dame_Lillard of the @trailblazers for moving into tied for 7th in all-time 50-point games! pic.twitter.com/DbYjwRb3f6
— NBA (@NBA) March 17, 2021
According to the NBA’s official Twitter account, Lillard moved into a tie for the seventh-most 50-point games in NBA history after his scoring outburst on Tuesday. Who is he tied with? LeBron James.
Any time a player can match LeBron in any statistical category, that’s a massive achievement. It also speaks volumes about Lillard’s ability as a scorer, as he has posted 12 of these 50-point games in just 653 games.
Meanwhile, James has played in 1,304 games, nearly twice as many as Lillard, and has the same amounts of 50-point outings as the Blazers start. Plus, James hasn’t scored 50 in a game since November of 2018.
