(CNN) Damian Lillard set an NBA record on his monster scoring night Sunday, amassing 71 points in 39 minutes, including 13 three-pointers, as the Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Houston Rockets 121-114.
With his performance, Lillard became the first player in NBA history to score more than 70 points in under 40 minutes and only the eighth player to reach the 70-point mark.
He is also the only player on this elite list to score 70 points by age 30 and the first to do so with 10 or more three-pointers.
“I enjoy those moments in the game where I’m just chasing people,” the NBA All-Star said after the game. “That was all tonight. I wanted to be in attack mode. I set it in motion and stayed aggressive.”
Lillard came on with an average of 37.6 points in his last 18 games and continued that stellar run with a league-season high that matched Donovan Mitchell’s 71 points against the Chicago Bulls in January.
Lillard started early with 41 points, including eight threes at halftime. Whether he ran into the paint or fired shots from long range, the Blazers guard was unplayable.
He made all 14 of his free throw attempts and had a magnetic relationship with the basket while shooting – even sinking a ridiculous 36-foot jumper in the second quarter.
He finished the game by shooting 22 of 38 from the field and making 13 three-pointers from 22 attempts – just one of Klay Thompson’s record 14 three-pointers set in 2018.
Lillard’s teammates continued to look for him in the final minutes to try and beat Mitchell’s total, but after missing a couple of shots, he came off exhausted with 44 seconds left.
“It was really a masterful performance,” Portland coach Chauncey Billups said of his star’s game. “It was a work of art. That was incredible.”
All post-game celebrations for Lillard were cut short after he was selected for a drug test.
With that feat, Lillard entered a pantheon of NBA greats. His 71-point tally ties with the eighth most points scored in a game in NBA history, though he’s still a long way from Wilt Chamberlain’s 1962 record of 100 points.
Lillard is behind only Chamberlain and Kobe Bryant in 60-point career games and is the only player alongside the two NBA legends to have 50, 60 and 70 points in separate games in a season, according to CBS Sports.
“I think every hooper enjoys those moments when you’re hot, you’re in attack mode, you’re feeling good,” he said.
Not only was it a brilliant individual effort from Lillard, but a much-needed one.
The Blazers snagged a two-game loss with the win, keeping their slim hopes of a playoff spot alive. Portland now sits 11th in the Western Conference with a 29-31 record, but is just three games ahead of the Phoenix Suns in fourth place.
The Trail Blazers remain on the West Coast for their next game while they travel to the Bay Area to play the Golden State Warriors Tuesday night.