Portland Trail Blazers Guard Damian Lillard Hangs 50 on Cleveland Cavaliers

The Portland Trail Blazers fell short 119-113 against the Cleveland Cavaliers Thursday night, but Damian Lillard did everything he could. The six-time All Star totalled a colossal 50 points on 16-28 shooting in the loss, a season-high.

50 points on 16-28 shooting.@Dame_Lillard was on one tonight. pic.twitter.com/1bccwDddlI
— NBA (@NBA) January 13, 2023

Lillard clearly had to prioritize scoring; he managed only two rebounds and three assists on the night. It was the 13th 50-point game of his career, the eighth most of all time. The huge night lifted his per-game season averages to 28.2 points, 7.0 assists, and 3.9 rebounds on 44.3% shooting.

Lillard has been his typically excellent self over 29 games this season, but it may be all for naught. The Blazers are 19-22, 11th in the Western Conference standings. They have work to do just to make the play-in tournament, and they're even further than that from contention. Barring massive, sweeping changes, the Blazers appear poised to waste another classic Lillard season, and who knows how many of those he has left.

The Blazers host the Dallas Mavericks Saturday night.