On This Day In NBA History: August 11 - Damian Lillard Scores 61 Points

On this day in 2020, six-time All-Star guard Damian Lillard scored 61 points against the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Bubble, helping the Portland Trail Blazers claim a 134-131 victory.

Many players are happy if they score in double figures on any given night. Others strive to consistently score 20-plus points every night in order to lead their team in the NBA.

On this day in 2020, Damian Lillard did not just score in double figures or score 20-plus points, he put up 61 points against the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Bubble.

While some do not like to recognize what happened in Orlando during the league’s resumption of play during the 2020 pandemic, everything that happened is still a part of NBA history and lore.

Not only did this performance tie a career-high in scoring for Lillard that he achieved earlier that same season, but this was the third instance in which a player for the Portland Trail Blazers had scored at least 60 points in a game, all three times being by Lillard.

IT. IS. DAME. TIME. ⌚️

61 PTS for Damian Lillard. pic.twitter.com/5kMoBoXnoa

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) August 12, 2020

Defeating the Dallas Mavericks 134-131, Damian Lillard scored 61 points on 17-32 shooting from the floor and 9-17 shooting from three-point range. For his career, Lillard has had 12 games with at least nine made three-pointers, three of which have come in the playoffs.

This game against Dallas ended up being a critical seeding game for the Trail Blazers in the NBA Bubble, as Portland was able to pull ahead of the Memphis Grizzlies for the 8-seed in the Western Conference and earn a chance to compete for a real playoff spot in the inaugural Play-In Tournament. The Blazers went on to defeat the Grizzlies for the 8-seed in the playoff picture.

In the NBA Bubble, Damian Lillard ended up averaging 37.6 points, 9.6 assists and shot 49.7% from the floor, 43.6% from three-point range in eight seeding games, earning him MVP honors in the bubble.

Dame Lillard relishes the moment after dropping 61 to move into sole possession of 8th place with one game to go. He is the only player in league history other than Wilt Chamberlain with three 60-plus point games in the same season. pic.twitter.com/6KGF1pIRBy

— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) August 12, 2020

Since losing in the first-round of the playoffs to the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2020 NBA Bubble, the Portland Trail Blazers have gone 69-85, losing in the first-round of the playoffs during the 2020-21 season to the Denver Nuggets and then missing the playoffs altogether this past 2021-22 season in Chauncey Billups first season as head coach of the team.

Lillard only ended up playing in 29 games this past season due to abdominal surgery and the fact that Portland was well out of the playoff picture during his recovery.

With the addition of Jerami Grant, as well as Jusuf Nurkic and Anfernee Simons returning to the team, the Trail Blazers hope that Damian Lillard will once again be able to lead them to the playoffs.

One of the greatest players of this generation, Lillard should once again finish near the top of the league in scoring during the 2022-23 season. Whether or not he can win a title in Portland remains yet to be determined.