Portland Trail Blazers down Philadelphia 76ers on Damian Lillard 50-piece

The Portland Trail Blazers needed 51 points from Damian Lillard to down the Philadelphia 76ers in a seesaw affair in the NBA Bubble in Orlando.

It took another exceptional performance from Damian Lillard to get the Portland Trail Blazers across the line on Sunday against the Philadelphia 76ers.

A 34-point performance from shooting guard Josh Richardson kept the Sixers alive after franchise center Joel Embiid limped out of the game in the first half. Already without superstar Ben Simmons, Richardson combined with Tobias Harris ( 17 points ) and Alec Burks ( 20 points ) to take this game down to the final possession.

A big first quarter from the Blazers and Lillard had them out a 33 – 19 as Embiid went to the locker room with an ankle complaint. The Sixers closed the gap by winning the second quarter, 39 – 34.

Gary Trent Jr. was uncharacteristically quiet after averaging 20 points a game in the bubble so far. Still, Dame was supported by Mario Hezonja, whose 12 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 assists were coupled with zero turnovers.

This was Hezonja’s most significant performance of the year, and it came at the perfect time. Carmelo Anthony also had a big game, with 20 points, 7 rebounds and a big three in the fourth quarter when they were down by six points.

Dame was the star though, with a monster performance highlighted by 18 points in the fourth quarter. He was 15 of 16 from the line, and 16 of 28 overall from the field. With Nurkic in foul trouble the whole game, he put the Blazers on his back.

Down by one with 2:53 on the clock, he created an absurd four-point play on Richardson. The Blazers didn’t relinquish the lead after that.

Dame is playing at an MVP level, winning the Blazers two games almost singlehandedly after his epic 45 points won them the game against the Nuggets.

The Blazers still had strong games from Jusuf Nurkic and CJ McCollum. Nurkic with 15 points and 3 blocks, plus the two free throws to give a three-point lead the end of the game. CJ only had 16, but he had consecutive three-pointers in the second half when Lillard was off the floor.

The San Antonio Spurs eliminated the New Orleans Pelicans in the game before the Blazers, while the Memphis Grizzlies lost to the Toronto Raptors. All this means that the Pelicans and also the Sacramento Kings are now eliminated. The Grizzlies are only a half-game and then a full game ahead of the Blazers and Spurs, respectively.

The Blazers’ next game is against the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday.