Damian Lillard Joins Michael Jordan in Playoff Record Books After Phenomenal Game 5 Performance

Everyone around the world would agree that the Blazers vs the Nuggets is turning out to be the most thrilling round 1 series of NBA playoffs 2021. The two teams are going back and forth and biting each other in every alternate game. Now, the Nuggets have registered their third win by playing two OTs to take a 3-1 lead over Damian Lillard and his men. 

If anything, Game 5 was a classic Damian Lillard experience where the star point guard took the Nuggets single-handedly. He forced Nikola Jokic’s men to the brink of a loss and registered some individual records to his name.

Damian Lillard with a memorable performance

The Big Game Dame scored 55 points on Tuesday while the other Blazers combined for 85 points. His 70.8% shooting from the field helped the Blazers camouflage the meager 38% from the rest of the roster. Plus, he outscored his own unit 17-2 in the two OTs to make it an individual show that almost clinched him a win.

 With this disappointing loss even after scoring a crazy 55-point double-double, the man found himself on a rather painful list. This was the third time a player scored 55 or more in the NBA playoffs while still sustaining a loss. 

Michael Jordan had registered those humongous 63 points in Game 2 of a five-game series against the Celtics in the 1986 playoffs. Larry Bird had then done to MJ what Nikola Jokic did to Damian Lillard at Ball Arena tonight.

Read more – ‘MASTERPIECE’: Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, and Others React to Damian Lillard’s Stunning Performance

Records kept pouring in for the Blazers’ logo man

Although these records will mean nothing to a man hungry for a win, he broke and set them, anyway. This 50+ point game from Logo Lillard was hands down the most efficient performance in the league’s 75+ years history. His True Shooting (TS) percentage, which measures an athlete’s true shooting efficiency, stood flawless at 96.8%. Moreover, his effective field goal scoring remained 95.8%. Notably, none of the other players on the list, not even Nuggets’ Jamal Murray or Raptors’ Vince Carter, could even enter the 90+ mark. 

With under 100 seconds remaining in the game, the Blazers were 140-140 going neck-to-neck with the Nuggets. However, a Michael Porter three-pointer followed by a couple of misses from Norman Powell and Robert Covington gave the Nuggets a chance to take over. Had CJ McCollum been efficient in that clutch time, Dame’s efforts would’ve reaped him big returns and he wouldn’t be on this list.

Watch this story – Damian Lillard’s Breathtaking All-Star Game Performance