The Portland Trail Blazers wrapped a four-game homestand with a resounding 13-point win over the Houston Rockets.
Damian Lillard has been on an absolute tear overe the past four home games, averaging 48.5 points, 9.8 assists, and 8.0 rebounds on 53.2% (58-of-109) shooting from the field, 55.9% (33-of-59) from beyond the arc, and 91.8% (45-49 FT's) from the free-throw line.
It's been Dame Time every time the last 4 games.
— StatMamba (@statmuse) January 30, 2020
61-10-7, 11 3s
47-6-8, 8 3s
50-6-13, 8 3s
36-10-11, 6 3s tonight
He's shooting 53/56/92 over that span. pic.twitter.com/FmjEwK3CQp
In today's 125-112 win over the Rockets, he recorded his first career triple-double. He finished with 36 points (11-of-21 FG; 6-of-12 3PT and 8-of-10 FT), 11 rebounds, and 10 assists in 39 minutes, making some history in the process.
Damian Lillard recorded his 1st career triple-double in Wednesday's win over the Rockets.
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) January 30, 2020
Lillard's effort was also the 1st 30-point triple-double by a Trail Blazer since Clyde Drexler on Nov. 13, 1990. pic.twitter.com/eGVcEe3Ztg
This was also Lillard's sixth straight 30-point game, a franchise record. In fact, he's been on fire all through this month:
January has been a month to remember for Damian Lillard.
— StatMamba (@statmuse) January 30, 2020
- 1st in scoring
- 1st in threes
- 1st career triple-double tonight pic.twitter.com/A4m2JsIdcq
Harden's struggles continue
Meanwhile, the same can't be said for James Harden. The former MVP has had a rough second half of January.
Over the past six games (2-4 record for the Rockets), Harden has scored less than 20 on three occasions. That's odd for a player averaging more than 35 points for the season. While it's been a struggle as a whole, his three-point shooting seems to have taken the biggest hit.
James Harden last 2 games:
— StatMamba (@statmuse) January 30, 2020
12 PTS
18 PTS
This is the first time he has failed to score 20 points in back-to-back games since 2016-17. pic.twitter.com/apWEZN9gfy
Over these past six games, Harden is shooting 8-of-52 (15.4%) from beyond the arc. In this one, he finished with 18 points (5-of-18 FG; 2-of-8 3PT) and was -13 in his 38 minutes.
Lillard received plenty of help from his teammates, most notably from the duo of Trevor Ariza and Hassan Whiteside.
Ariza, in just his third game with the Blazers, scored 21 points (9-of-14 FG; 3-6 3PT) and finished with a +13 (second-highest in the team) in his 38 minutes. Hassan Whiteside, on the other hand, finished with 15 points (6-of-9 FG), 10 rebounds, five blocks and a team-high +18 in his 28 minutes on the floor.
For the Rockets, Russell Westbrook was the best performer with 39 points (16-of-29 FG), 10 rebounds, and six assists in his 42 minutes but it wasn't enough as the Rockets fell to the Trail Blazers for the second time in the space of a couple weeks.