Damian Lillard becomes the eighth player in NBA history to score 70 or more in a game with 71 points

Damian Lillard set franchise and career records with 71 points, tied for the most in the NBA this season, and 13 three-pointers as the Portland Trail Blazers snapped a two-game skid with a 131-114 victory over the Houston Rockets on Sunday night. .

Lillard tied Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell for the most points in a game this season after Mitchell also scored 71 in a win over Chicago on Jan. 2. Lillard broke his own franchise-high 61 points, which he had made twice, on a 3-pointer with 4:42 remaining that also surpassed his career high for 3-pointers in a game with 11.

In the final minutes, the crowd at the Moda Center was on its feet, phones recording the moment, as they chanted “MVP! MVP!”

Lillard left the game with 44 seconds remaining.

Lillard had 41 points and eight 3-pointers at halftime. It was a career-high in a half for Lillard and the most points in a half by any player in the league this season. He was 50 at the start of the fourth quarter.

Jerami Grant added 13 points for the Blazers, who led by as many as 23. Portland is part of a Western Conference group of eight just four wins apart vying for playoff spots.

Alperen Sengun had 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Rockets, ranking last in the Western Conference with just 13 wins overall and nine straight losses.

Houston trailed 102-88 going into the fourth quarter, but scored the first six points of the period to close the gap to 102-94. Grant’s 3-pointer for Portland extended the margin to 108-98.

Lillard’s 3, his 11th of the night to tie his career high, made it 113-103 with 6:43 remaining. He added a driving layup and a free throw. Houston was unable to catch up.

Lillard started off rest for Thursday night’s 133-116 loss to Sacramento. He participated in the NBA All-Star Game and won the 3-point contest the previous weekend.

But Portland was without center Jusuf Nurkic (left calf) and guard Anfernee Simons (right ankle).

LAKERS 111, MAVERICKS 108

Anthony Davis had 30 points and 15 rebounds, including a late go-ahead dunk, as Los Angeles erased a 27-point deficit to beat Dallas.

LeBron James scored 26 points as the Lakers won their fourth in five games by turning an all-star showcase from a laugh to a cliffhanger that featured 13 fourth-quarter lead changes.

Luka Doncic scored 26 points for the Mavs, but the youngest of the four superstars was limited and frustrated after a 14-point first quarter that sent Dallas into the lead.

Kyrie Irving had 21 points and 11 rebounds for Dallas, but he didn’t take over in the fourth quarter like he did in his first win with Doncic since the Brooklyn trade, over lowly San Antonio.

DOLLARS 104, SOLES 101

Jrue Holiday scored 33 points, Brook Lopez made a tiebreaking layup with 24.8 seconds remaining and the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Phoenix Suns 104-101 on Sunday for their 14th straight victory.

The nationally televised game did not include Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo or Phoenix’s Kevin Durant.

Antetokounmpo sat out with a right quadriceps strain after leaving in the first quarter of the Bucks’ 128-99 win over the Miami Heat on Friday. Durant has yet to appear in a game for the Suns and hasn’t played since Jan. 8 due to a sprained right medial collateral ligament.

Lopez had 22 points and 12 rebounds for the Bucks, and Khris Middleton added 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Devin Booker scored 24 points, Deandre Ayton had 22 and Chris Paul added 18 for Phoenix. Ayton also had 11 rebounds.

HALCONS 129, NETS 127

Trae Young hit a jumper over Spencer Dinwiddie to lift Atlanta over Brooklyn just hours before the Hawks announced they’d hired Quin Snyder to replace the fired Nate McMillan as coach.

Young finished with 34 points for the Hawks, who rallied after blowing an 18-point lead to edge past four Nets scorers with at least 20 points.

Cam Johnson had 27 points for Brooklyn, including a corner 3-pointer to tie it at 127 with 7.8 seconds remaining. Mikal Bridges scored 24 for the Nets, who have lost four of five. Cam Thomas added 22 points and Dinwiddie had 20.

Dejounte Murray scored 28 points and Bogdan Bogdanovic added 22 for Atlanta, which won its second straight game under interim coach Joe Prunty after McMillan was fired Tuesday.

BULLS 102, WIZARDS 82

DeMar DeRozan scored 29 points, Zach LaVine added 27 and Chicago overcame its shooting woes from long range to beat Washington.

Alex Caruso and LaVine each hit 3-pointers midway through the third quarter to turn a one-point deficit into a 57-52 lead that the Bulls would not cede. Prior to back-to-back 3-pointers, the Bulls made just one of their first 16 3-point attempts.

The Bulls won their second game in a row after losing six straight to close out the first half of the season. They ended up going 8-for-30 from 3-point range, while the Wizards were just 6-for-28 from long range.

Bradley Beal scored 18 points for the Wizards (28-32), who lost their second straight game. They played without center forward Kristaps Porzingis (left knee pain) and guard Monte Morris (lower back pain).

KNIGHTS 118, RAPTOR 93

Donovan Mitchell scored 35 points and Jarrett Allen had 23 points and 11 rebounds, putting Cleveland ahead of Toronto.

Mitchell hit eight 3-pointers, one shy of his career high, and had six rebounds and four assists in 31 minutes as the Cavaliers snapped their three-game losing streak and remained fourth in the Eastern Conference.

Darius Garland added 18 points and 11 assists, and Evan Mobley had 18 points and nine rebounds for Cleveland, which improved to 26-7 at home this season.

Pascal Siakam led Toronto with 25 points and eight rebounds, and Jakob Poeltl had 13 points and nine rebounds. Starting point guard Fred VanVleet missed his third straight game due to personal reasons.

KINGS 124, THUNDER 115

De’Aaron Fox had 33 points and eight assists as Sacramento defeated Oklahoma City from behind.

Keegan Murray scored 20 points and Domantas Sabonis added 14 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists for the Kings, who won their third straight game. Sacramento defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 176-175 in two overtimes on Friday night in the second-highest scoring game in NBA history. The Kings followed with 52.9% shooting from the field against the Thunder.

Isaiah Joe scored 24 points and Lu Dort and Josh Giddey each added 18 for Oklahoma City. The Thunder have lost all three of their games since the All-Star break.

Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander sat out with right ankle pain and abdominal distension. The All-Star leads the Thunder with 31 points per game.

WARRIORS 109, TIMBER WOLVES 104

Klay Thompson scored 32 points, including a key 3-pointer with 2:05 to play, as Golden State held off Minnesota.

Donte DiVincenzo put Golden State ahead for good with a 3-pointer with 3:02 remaining and finished with 21 points, eight rebounds and five assists. He also won a jump ball in the last minute.

Kevon Looney grabbed 17 rebounds and has 13 or more in six straight games. He finished with 12 points, and his sixth straight career game with double-digit boards was much-needed for a Warriors team still playing without three starters: Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Andrew Wiggins.

Naz Reid scored a career-high 30 points and added nine rebounds for Minnesota, but the Timberwolves have lost three straight and four of five.

NUGGETS 134, CUTTERS 124

The Denver Nuggets defeated the LA Clippers in a game that required overtime to determine a winner.

Nikola Jokic posted another triple-double with 40 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists. Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr also finished the night with 21 and 29 points respectively.

Kawhi Leonard led the way for the Clippers with 33 points, while Paul George was second on the team with 23 points.