That’s one hell of a coincidence.
Damian Lillard told reporters he got drug tested by the NBA after dropping 71 points in a 131-114 win over the Rockets on Sunday night.
“Honestly, I was like are y’all serious?” Lillard said. “I did the urine test [Saturday] and they backed it up with the blood draw after the game [Sunday]. That was actually the first time in my career [getting] tested after a game. Then aside from that they know I am scared of needles. I know I got a lot of tattoos, but when you’re doing a blood draw it is different than tattoos.”
It put a damper on an otherwise flawless night for the 32-year-old Lillard, who made 22 of 38 shots overall and 13 of 22 from 3-point range against a hapless Rockets team that now sits at an NBA-worst 13-47.
Lillard, who also had six rebounds and six assists, tied Donovan Mitchell for the most points in a game this season and broke his own franchise record, which previously stood at 61 points.
“It brought me down from here to the floor, all the way until it was done,” Lillard said as he raised his hand up in the air. “Once they finished it I was like, ‘alright, I got that out of the way.’”
The Moda Center crowd serenaded Lillard with “MVP” chants in the fourth quarter and his teammates doused him with water after the monumental performance. Lillard had 41 points at the half and 50 as he entered the fourth quarter.
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“I think any hooper enjoys those moments when you’re hot, you’re in attack mode, you’re feeling good,” Lillard said. “But it’s the stuff afterward that I struggle with, like when I walked off the court, was I supposed to be overly excited, or what?”
NBA stars around the league also celebrated Lillard’s greatness.
“My mom calls me and says @Dame_Lillard tied your record … you gotta get 72 now,” tweeted Mitchell, who scored 71 points for the Cavaliers in an overtime win over the Bulls on Jan. 2.
“Dame so great,” wrote Suns star Kevin Durant.
The historic performance pushed the Blazers to 29-31 in the tightly packed Western Conference. Only four games separate the fourth-seeded Suns from the Thunder, who are 13th in the conference.