Damian Lillard scores career-high 51, Blazers bash Warriors by 32
PORTLAND, Ore. — Damian Lillard came through with the best game of his career against his hometown team.
Lillard scored a career-high 51 points, and had seven assists, six steals and no turnovers to lead the Portland Trail Blazers to a stunningly dominant 137-105 win over the defending champion Golden State Warriors on Friday night.
"It's a great feeling," said Lillard, who is from Oakland, California. "Especially against the best team in the league. I haven't scored 50 since ninth grade."
Golden State coach Steve Kerr paid Lillard the ultimate compliment for today's point guard.
"He was phenomenal," Kerr said. "He looked like Steph Curry out there."
I don't care what they see https://t.co/zhDhzAsvot
— Damian Lillard (@Dame_Lillard) February 20, 2016
Curry, last season's MVP, led the Warriors with 31 points and five assists. Draymond Green added 14 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists, but also had nine turnovers as Golden State snapped its 11-game winning streak and saw its quest for the best regular season record in NBA history hit a serious speed bump.
"This is the NBA, so there's going to be nights where the other team gets hot," Kerr said. "I'm OK with the other team making shots. What I'm not OK with is losing our poise in the third quarter."
The 137 points were the most by a Golden State opponent this season, and the 32-point margin of defeat the Warriors' most lopsided loss.
"We weren't as focused as we should be," said the Warriors' Klay Thompson, who had 23 points.
Said Curry: "We just lost our composure when it comes to how we controlled our possessions. That usually doesn't happen."
Lost in the eye-popping offensive performance by Lillard and the Blazers was a stifling defensive effort throughout the game, but especially in the third quarter when they forced Golden State into 13 of its 20 turnovers.
"I couldn't be more happy with our effort defensively," Lillard said. "I think that's what allowed us to get out and play at a fast pace and move the ball the way we did tonight."
Portland had 28 assists on 52 field goals against only 13 turnovers as the Blazers played a more up-tempo game than fans are used to seeing.
Damian Lillard's postgame interview after posting a career-high night. https://t.co/WoA6UQvb4m
— NBA TV (@NBATV) February 20, 2016
Meanwhile the Warriors must regroup as they try to better the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls, who hold the record for wins in a season with 72.
STANDOUT EFFORT
Lillard became the first player in NBA history to have at least 50 points, seven assists and six steals since the steal became an official statistic in 1973-74, according to information provided by the Trail Blazers from the Elias Sports Bureau.
"Dame had it going early and had it going late," Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. "At the end it was just ridiculous."
Lillard was also the first player since Reggie Miller in 1992 to have 50 points and seven assists without any turnovers. He tied a franchise record and set a Warriors' opposition record with nine 3-pointers.
TIP-INS
Warriors: Curry hit a 3-pointer on the road for a record 101st consecutive regular season game, the only player to ever compile a triple-digit streak of that nature. He has hit a 3 in 124 straight overall, three behind the NBA record. ... The 42 points allowed in the first quarter were the most by a Warriors' opponent in any quarter this season.
Trail Blazers: G Brian Roberts, acquired from Miami at Thursday's NBA trade deadline, made his Portland debut, wearing No. 2 and scoring seven points in mop-up duty. ... F Noah Vonleh, who was active for the final game before the All-Star break but did not play, returned to the starting lineup after missing the last four games. ... C.J. McCollum scored 21 points with seven assists. Gerald Henderson had 12 points and Maurice Harkless 11.
A career night for @Dame_Lillard... putting up 51 points, 9 threes, 7 assists & 6 steals in @TrailBlazers 137-105 W!https://t.co/TXG1fJZ9vC
— NBA (@NBA) February 20, 2016
CONNECTIONS
Golden State and Portland share many ties, beginning with Kerr, who played for the Blazers in 2001-02 and missed the first game between the two teams on Jan. 8. Thompson's father, Mychal, was the overall No. 1 pick of the 1978 draft by Portland. Stotts assisted on former Golden State coach Mike Montgomery's staff in 2004-05, and coached Andrew Bogut for two seasons in Milwaukee. And a jump shot by current Warriors broadcaster Jim Barnett is said to have been the inspiration behind the term "rip city," coined by longtime former Portland radio man Bill Schonely, when Barnett was part of the Blazers' inaugural season in 1970-71.
HALF-COURT HERO
Blazers fan Daniel McGunnigle sank a half-court shot during a timeout late in the game to win a 2016 Toyota Prius.
UP NEXT
Warriors: At the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday.
Trail Blazers: Host Utah on Sunday.
