Damian Lillard Joins LeBron James and Jerry West in Record Books Following Historic Playoff Performance

Once again, the Portland Trail Blazers had an early exit from the NBA playoffs at the hands of the Denver Nuggets. However, it is safe to say, they didn’t go down without a fight. At least, it holds true for their superstar player Damian Lillard, who kept the series a nail-biter only to lose to Nikola Jokic and his crew in double overtime. Although he finished on the losing side, Lillard joined some NBA legends with his unique playoff record.

Damian Lillard becomes part of an elite group

With little support from the supporting cast, the Portland Trail Blazers saw the face of defeat in Game 5 despite putting up his highest playoff return score of 55 points and 11 assists. It’s commendable for him to extend the game to 2 overtimes but his luck only lasted that long.

And now, another win in Game 6 has landed the Dame and his team out of the postseason run, with the Denver Nuggets progressing to the second round. The Blazers had a home-court advantage in this one and were perfectly capable of pulling off a comeback. However, Lillard couldn’t put up a big performance as he did in the last game and ended the night with 28 points and 13 assists.

Yet, he was able to etch his name into NBA’s history books with the numbers he was putting up. As per ESPN Stats & Info, “Damian Lillard became the 4th player in NBA history with 200 points and 60 assists in a playoff series, joining LeBron James, Jerry West, and Oscar Robertson. Lillard was the only one to accomplish the feat in 6 games.”

Damian Lillard became the 4th player in NBA history with 200 points and 60 assists in a playoff series, joining LeBron James, Jerry West and Oscar Robertson.

Lillard was the only one to accomplish the feat in 6 games. pic.twitter.com/4Y279RCTta

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 4, 2021

In fact, he also had 35 three-pointers in the first round, which the most ever in a playoff series. This only means that Lillard went out with a bang.

Damian Lillard had 35 threes in the first round — the most ever in a playoff series.

(Submitted by @MikoPalero) pic.twitter.com/1iPMdeqteJ

— StatMuse (@statmuse) June 4, 2021

READ MORE: ‘That Ain’t Nothing’: Blazers’ Damian Lillard Downplays Simmering Feud With Clippers’ Paul George

Where did the Blazers go wrong?

Both CJ McCollum and Norman Powell had a poor shooting night in Game 5. Their lackluster performance gave the Nuggets the boost they needed and they fed off of it. So, even though Lillard was sensational, his performance couldn’t create as big an impact as they needed. They also needed Nurkic to stay out of foul trouble, but they had four in the third quarter, following which he was benched.

In fact, they had a hard time containing the top candidate for the MVP this season, Nikola Jokic. He added 38points and 11 rebounds in the last game and finished tonight’s game with 36 points on the scoreboard. Along with him, Michael Porter Jr. had 26 points of his own, out of which 22 came in the first quarter itself.

The Nuggets now await the result of the Lakers vs Phoenix Suns game, as they will be heading to the semi-finals with the one that wins that intense series. Until next time for the Damian Lillard and the Blazers…

WATCH THIS STORY: Stephen Curry, Bradley Beal & Other Stars That Deserve to be on Better Teams Next Season

The post Damian Lillard Joins LeBron James and Jerry West in Record Books Following Historic Playoff Performance appeared first on EssentiallySports.