NBA Game Notes (Feb. 26, 2023)

Here are the NBA game notes for games that were played on February 26, 2023.

Dame Explodes for 71

Damian Lillard exploded for a career-high and franchise-record 71 points as the Portland Trail Blazers routed the Houston Rockets 131-114. Lillard is the eighth player in NBA history to record a 70-point game (a total of 13 instances):

• Wilt Chamberlain (6 times)

• Elgin Baylor

• David Thompson

• David Robinson

• Kobe Bryant

• Devin Booker

• Donovan Mitchell

• Damian Lillard

Lillard and Mitchell each recorded their 70-point games this season. It’s the first season in NBA history in which two different players scored at least 70 points in a game. This is the third season to feature multiple 70-point games. There were three such games in the 1961-62 and 1962-63 seasons, all by Chamberlain.

This was Lillard’s fifth career 60-point game, the third-most such games in NBA history:

• 32 — Wilt Chamberlain

• 6 — Kobe Bryant

• 5 — Damian Lillard

• 4 — Michael Jordan

• 4 — James Harden

Lillard outscored the game’s second-leading scorers — the Rockets’ Alperen Sengun and Jae’Sean Tate, each with 17 points — by 54 points, the third-largest such difference in NBA history:

• 61 — Wilt Chamberlain (March 2, 1962)

• 55 — Kobe Bryant (Jan. 22, 2006)

• 54 — Damian Lillard (Feb. 26, 2023)

• 49 — Joe Fulks (Feb. 10, 1949)

• 46 — David Thompson (April 9, 1978)

This is the first 70-point game in NBA history which did not feature another 20-point scorer.

Lillard shot 22-38 from the field — including 13-22 from 3-point range — and made all 14 of his free throws. He’s the first player in NBA history to score at least 70 points in a game without missing a free throw.

Lillard’s 13 3-pointers made are tied for the second-highest single-game total in NBA history:

• 14 — Klay Thompson (Oct. 29, 2018)

• 13 — Stephen Curry (Nov. 7, 2016)

• 13 — Zach LaVine (Nov. 23, 2019)

• 13 — Damian Lillard (Feb. 26, 2023)

Lillard’s true shooting percentage was 80.4%, the highest such figure in NBA history in a 70-point game:

• 80.4% — Damian Lillard (Feb. 26, 2023)

• 78.9% — Donovan Mitchell (Jan. 2, 2023)

• 78.0% — David Thompson (April 9, 1978)

• 73.9% — Kobe Bryant (Jan. 22, 2006)

• 73.4% — Wilt Chamberlain (March 10, 1963)

Lillard tied Donovan Mitchell for the highest effective field goal percentage in a 70-point game:

• 75.0% — Damian Lillard (Feb. 26, 2023)

• 75.0% — Donovan Mitchell (Jan. 2, 2023)

• 73.7% — David Thompson (April 9, 1978)

• 71.1% — Wilt Chamberlain (March 10, 1963)

• 68.5% — Kobe Bryant (Jan. 22, 2006)

Lillard also contributed six rebounds and six assists. He’s just the fourth player in NBA history to record at least 70 points, five rebounds, and five assists in a game:

• David Robinson (April 24, 1994)

• Devin Booker (March 24, 2017)

• Donovan Mitchell (Jan. 2, 2023)

• Damian Lillard (Feb. 26, 2023)

Over his last 21 games, Lillard is averaging 38.7 PPG and 7.3 APG with shooting percentages of 51.4% from the field, 40.1% from 3-point range, and 94.6% from the free throw line. He’s scored at least 24 points in each of those games.

Lillard made his 200th 3-pointer of the season, the eighth time he’s reached that mark. That’s tied for the second-most such seasons in NBA history:

• 9 — Stephen Curry

• 8 — Klay Thompson

• 8 — Damian Lillard

• 6 — James Harden

Lillard also surpassed 19,000 career points. He’s the first player in franchise history to reach that mark.