Portland, Ore. — Damian Lillard scored a season-high 60 points on nine 3-pointers as the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Utah Jazz 134-124 on Wednesday night.
Lillard’s 60 points this season is tied for second most in the NBA. Donovan Mitchell scored 71 in an overtime game for the Cleveland Cavaliers against the Chicago Bulls on January 3, and Luka Doncic scored 60 in the Dallas Mavericks’ overtime victory over the New York Knicks on December 27.
Jeremy Grant added 19 points to help Portland win its second straight game.
Lauri Markkanen led the Jazz with 24 points. He had a layup followed by a tip shot with 5:20 remaining that brought Utah within 115–108. Grant and Anfernie Simmons had back-to-back dunks to put Portland up 121–110, and the Blazers led comfortably the rest of the way.
As Lillard reached the free throw line late in the game, the home crowd rose to its feet and chanted “MVP! MVP!
Lillard has had four career 60-point games or more. He has reached 61 twice.
He also has 14 career 50-point games, tied with LeBron James for second most among active players and behind only James Harden (23).
After much of January’s struggles, the Blazers were coming off a morale-boosting 147-127 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Monday.
Lillard had 26 points in the first half, including six 3-pointers. He completed 21 of 29 from the field, 9 of 15 on 3-pointers and 9 of 10 from the line. He is the fourth player in NBA history to score 60 points on 70 percent shooting from the field, along with Wilt Chamberlain, Karl Malone, and David Thompson.
He also had eight assists, seven rebounds and three steals.
This report used information from The Associated Press.
