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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 the most thrilling round 1 series of NBA playoffs 2021. The two teams are going back and forth with 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 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 on the brink of a loss and meanwhile registered some individual records in his name.
Damian Lillard with a memorable performance
The Big Game Dame scored 55 points on Tuesday while the other Blazers combined 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.
Most points in a playoff loss:
63 — Michael Jordan vs Celtics
57 — Donovan Mitchell vs Nuggets
55 — Damian Lillard vs Nuggets pic.twitter.com/5sPhURX2iG— StatMuse (@statmuse) June 2, 2021
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 for the Blazers’ logo man
Although these records would mean nothing to a man hungry for a win, he broke and set those 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.
Most efficient 50-point playoff games in NBA history:
96.8 TS% — Damian Lillard
89.4 — Jamal Murray
82.5 — Vince Carter95.8 eFG% — Damian Lillard
89.6 — Jamal Murray
81.0 — Vince Carter pic.twitter.com/b54OQt5vgN— StatMuse (@statmuse) June 2, 2021
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.
To sum up, it was one great watch and we hope for an equally good game 6.
Watch this story – Damian Lillard’s Breathtaking All-Star Game Performance
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