‘Are you serious?’: Trailblazers’ star guard Damian Lillard reveals he was called in for a postgame drug test for the FIRST TIME in his 11-year NBA career, after losing 71 points against the Rockets.
Damian Lillard has revealed that he had to undergo his first post-game drug test in his 11 years in the NBA after dropping 71 points in a 131-114 win over the Houston Rockets on Sunday night.
The 32-year-old seven-time All-Star was in dismay after becoming the first player in league history to score more than 70 points in less than 40 minutes.
He also tied Donovan Mitchell, Elgin Baylor (1960) and David Robinson (1994) for the most points scored in a game, becoming the eighth player in NBA history to score 70 or more.
“Honestly, I was like they were serious,” Lillard told reporters after the game on Sunday. ‘He did the urine test (Saturday) and they backed him up with the blood draw after the game (Sunday). That was the first time in my career (taking) a test after a game.
‘Other than that, they know I’m afraid of needles. I know I have a lot of tattoos, but when you do a blood draw it’s different than tattoos. He brought me down from here to the ground, all the way until it was over.
“Once they finished it, I said, ‘Okay, I got it out of the way.'”
Damian Lillard submitted his first NBA drug test in 11 years after a 71-point show on Sunday
The 32-year-old broke Portland’s franchise record and career high against the Rockets.
Lillard was barely wrong against Houston, shooting 57.9 percent from the field (22-of-38 shooting overall) and 59.1 percent from 3-point range (13-of-22). He also had six rebounds and six assists in 39 minutes of play.
And while beating the team with the worst record in the league (13-47), this year’s NBA 3-point contest champion surpassed his own franchise tally, which previously stood at 61 points.
Lillard’s last performance was the 15th game of his career with 50 or more points, the sixth-most in NBA history. He came into halftime with 41 points and eight 3-pointers.
It was a career-high in a half for Portland’s star guard 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.
In the final minutes of the game, the crowd at the Moda Center was on its feet, phones recording the moment as they chanted ‘MVP! MVP!
“I think any hooper enjoys those moments when you’re hot, you’re in attack mode, you feel good,” Lillard said. “But it’s the things that I struggle with afterwards, like when I walked off the court, was I supposed to be too excited or what?”
“It really was a masterful performance,” Blazers coach Chauncey Billups said. It was a work of art. That was incredible.’
Lillard’s 13 3-pointers were one shy of the NBA record set by Golden State’s Klay Thompson in 2018.
Lillard barely missed a step against Houston and shot 57.9 percent overall from the field.
“It really was a masterful performance,” said coach and former All-Star Chauncey Billups.
Since then, Thompson’s Warriors teammate Stephen Curry and Chicago Bulls’ Zach LaVine have also made 13 3-pointers.
Lillard’s magical performance on Sunday helped the Blazers get closer to .500 as the team has an overall record of 29-31 in a very tight Western Conference.
There is only a four-game difference between the fourth-seeded Phoenix Suns and the 13th-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder in the conference.
Portland is the No. 11 seed in the West, lurking just outside the league’s playing venues.