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Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers had another disappointing first-round exit when they lost in game six to the Denver Nuggets on Thursday night in the 2021 NBA playoffs.
There wasn't a lot more the superstar could have done in the series to help his side advance as their old defensive issues came back to haunt them. Lillard shot close to 50/40/90 across the six games and finished with a +/- of 4.5, averaging 34.3 points per game.
Throughout the course of the tie he also broke several staggering records. In this article, we examine the three that now belong to Damian Lillard, including the two he broke in Game 5 of the series.
Examining the records broken by Damian Lillard in his staggering 2021 NBA playoffs performance
Damian Lillard is one of the most exciting players in the NBA. At a time when offenses in the league focus on the importance of three-point scoring, Lillard fits in perfectly. Over his career, he has shot at 37.5% from beyond the arc and hit numerous clutch threes. He knows what it takes to make shots under pressure and has two of the most memorable three-point winning shots in NBA playoffs history.
Although he was unable to carry the Portland Trail Blazers through to the semifinals, he did set some impressive new playoff records.
#1 Most 3-pointers made in a game
In Game 5 of his 2021 NBA playoffs matchup with the Nuggets, Damian Lillard put on one of the greatest scoring displays in a postseason game ever seen. The game went into double-overtime, both periods of which were forced by the 30-year-old's immense clutch-scoring.
The record for most threes made in an NBA playoff game was previously set by Klay Thompson in 2016 when he scored 11 against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Lillard went one better by scoring 12-17 from downtown, with a staggering accuracy of 71%.
Damian Lillard is already known to be one of the best three-point shooters in the league who can pull up from any spot on the floor. He averaged just under 40% from beyond the arc this year but took his performances to another level in the postseason. The most disappointing part of his impressive record was that the Portland Trail Blazers still didn't manage to win the game.
#2 Most 3-pointers made in a series
Despite the peak years the Golden State Warriors 'splash bros' had and James Harden's performances while at Houston, it's somewhat surprising that Damian Lillard is now the holder of this record. In only six games, Lillard drained 35 threes, breaking Donovan Mitchell's record set last year in the NBA Playoffs of 33.
He came into their Game 6 matchup on home court just one trey shy of the record and shattered it within the first half, scoring three from beyond the arc before half-time. Over the series against the Denver Nuggets, Damian Lillard averaged 5.8 successful three-point efforts per game on 13 attempts - an accuracy of 44.9%. His most came in Game 5, when he put in the 12 threes previously mentioned.
#3 First 55-point, 10-assist game in playoff history
It's fair to say that Damian Lillard's performance in Game 5 was other-worldly. Not only did he break the playoff record for most made threes, he also set a postseason record for the first-ever 55-point, 10-assist game. Not only that, but he grabbed six rebounds and three blocks in the contest too.
It really was cruel that the Portland Trail Blazers weren't able to win on a night that was otherwise perfect for Dame. His miraculous performance was also the first time in NBA history that a player had 50+ points, 10 assists and 10 made threes in a game of any kind, regular season or otherwise. He did all of this with only one turnover.
Just when you thought they were out of it, Damian Lillard dragged the Portland Trail Blazers back into contention. Down three with less than ten seconds to go, Lillard tied the game, leaving only three seconds on the clock for his opponent. He then scored 17 of their last 19 points as a team, bringing them back from a nine-point deficit in the first period of overtime.
It truly was a performance for the ages and it is a shame it got wasted. Lillard will be left to think this summer about what he is going to do next and if he is ever going to be able to take this Portland Trail Blazers side to glory.
Guess the Lakers players!
