“Need another 50 ball from Damian Lillard tomorrow”: When the Blazers superstar dropped 61 points after Carmelo Anthony asked for 50

Damian Lillard dropped 61 points on the Dallas Mavericks the night after Carmelo Anthony told him that he needed him to drop 50. 

Damian Lillard has established himself as one of the greatest scorers of the late 2010s and is continuing to set the league on fire well into the 2020s as well. His Portland TrailBlazers have consistently made the Playoffs for nearly a decade with Lillard at the helm. Though they haven’t had a deep run in the postseason yet, they do hold the longest current streak of Playoff appearances. 

The Blazers staying afloat in an ultra-competitive Western Conference has everything to do with the fact that Damian Lillard is one of the most offensively gifted guards the league has ever seen. His ability to shoot off the dribble from 35 feet away from the basket at any point of the game is something that is unique to guys like him and Trae Young.

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There was no doubt in anyone’s mind that Dame would lead a healthy Portland team to the Playoffs when need be. This was no different during the NBA Bubble last year. 

Damian Lillard drops 61 when Carmelo asked for 50. 

The New Orleans Pelicans severely underperformed in the Bubble, leaving the door wide open for the Blazers and the Grizzlies to fight for the 8th seed. The former had one of the toughest eight game schedules during the Bubble and yet, went 6-2 over that span. This can be credited to Damian Lillard. 

Prior to a game against the Dallas Mavericks, the Blazers beat the Philadelphia 76ers in a close game that required Dame to drop 51 points. Following the bout, he hopped onto a YouTube stream with teammate Carmelo Anthony, where Melo asked him to drop 50 points the next day against the Mavs.

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Hilariously enough, as all NBA fans know now, the Oakland native ended up having himself a 61 point night, tying his career high in points he set on MLK day that same season. 

This feat by Damian Lillard is quite reminiscent of the time Shaquille O’Neal asked Kobe Bryant to drop 50 points in his final NBA game and the latter went out and dropped a casual 60 bomb on the Utah Jazz.