3 stats to know from Damian Lillard's latest 50-point game

Damian Lillard added another 50-point game to his expanding career resume of outstanding games.

From NBA.com News Services

March 17, 2021 12:41 PM

Full Focus: Lillard delivers in clutch

The Portland Trail Blazers ride Damian Lillard's clutch play and 50-point game to rally from a 17-point, fourth-quarter deficit to win 125-124.

Damian Lillard has been magical time and again for the Portland Trail Blazers during his eight seasons with the team, and on Tuesday night he further added to his lore.

Lillard dropped 50 points on the New Orleans Pelicans as the Blazers climbed from a 17-point hole with six minutes, 53 seconds left to score a 125-124 win that was one of Portland’s most memorable of 2020-21. Here’s a look at the raw, basic stats from Lillard’s performance:

41 minutes | 13-20 FG | 6-13 3-pt FG | 18-18 FT | 6 reb | 10 ast | 4 TO

The last two free throws Lillard made not only got him to 50 points, but came with 1.2 seconds left that capped Portland’s rally from that 17-point deficit. Lillard scored 20 of his 50 points in the fourth quarter in a performance that will always be memorable to him.

Lillard: 'These are the games we are capable of winning'

Damian Lillard knows what his team can do this season after Tuesday's win.

“I think with how it happened and the position we were in down the stretch, this will be one I remember,” Lillard said after the win.

In logging this latest 50-point performance, Lillard left some memorable marks in the NBA record books as well.

First, he had the third fewest field goal attempts in NBA history (per Elias Sports) en route to a 50-point game in the shot-clock era (since 1954-55). Here’s a look:

**Fewest FGA in a 50+ point game, shot-clock era (since 1954-55)**
Player (Team)	Date	FGAs	Result
Adrian Dantley (Jazz)	Oct. 31, 1980 vs. Mavs	17	144-122 W
Willie Burton (Sixers)	Dec. 12, 1994 vs. Heat	19	105-90 W
Damian Lillard (Blazers)	March 16, 2021 vs. Pelicans	20	125-124 W

Damian Lillard's 20 FGA Tuesday are the third fewest field-goal attempts among 50-point games in @NBAHistory. @EliasSports

Adrian Dantley in 1980 (17 FGA)
Willie Burton in 1994 (19 FGA)
Damian Lillard in 2021 (20 FGA) pic.twitter.com/pGRhmBFHLq

— NBA.com/Stats (@nbastats) March 17, 2021

Lillard also moved into a tie with two other players — one of whom is a Hall of Famer — among players who have had the most games with 50 or more points and 10 or more assists in the same game:

**Most career games with 50+ points and 10+ assists**
Player	Number of games
Nate Archibald	3
Russell Westbrook	3
Damian Lillard	3
James Harden	8

Lastly, this outburst vs. the Pelicans marked the 12th time in Lillard’s career he has crossed the 50-point plateau. That ties him for 7th all-time, which is solid. But keep in mind he needs more than 100 of these games to come close to surpassing the all-time leader, Wilt Chamberlain, for the record:

**All-time leaders: Career 50-point games in regular season**
Rank	Player	Number of 50-point games
1.	Wilt Chamberlain	118
2.	Michael Jordan	31
3.	Kobe Bryant	25
4.	James Harden	23
5.	Elgin Baylor	17
6.	Rick Barry	14
T-7.	LeBron James	12
T-7.	Damian Lillard	12
9.	Allen Iverson	11
10.	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	10

Lillard’s lore continues to grow in the Pacific Northwest, a feat not lost on anyone close to him on a daily basis.

“He continues to do things that are remarkable,” Blazers coach Terry Stotts said Tuesday night. “Fifty points and 10 assists, and game-winners, and all the things that he does. I’m never surprised, but I never take it for granted.”