Portland Trail Blazers: Top 10 player performances of 2017

1. Damian Lillard, April 4: 59 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 48.6 Game Score

This list ends with the performance that put the exclamation point on the Trail Blazers’ comeback season in 2016-17. Damian Lillard’s big night helped Portland easily dispatch the Utah Jazz 101-86. The Blazers had just played Utah two games prior, losing 106-87 in Salt Lake City. However, Portland had little issue handling the Jazz on their own home court.

Portland was instantly in the driver’s seat when they jumped out to a 34-20 lead after one quarter of play. The charge was led by none other than Lillard and his 26 points in the frame. He actually went scoreless in the second quarter, playing only six minutes. But he re-ignited in the second half with 33 points to help put Utah away.

Lillard’s 59 points are a Blazers franchise record, and they came at a very opportune time. The win put Portland at 40-40 on the season, giving them the inside track on clinching the eighth seed in the Western Conference playoffs.

The ninth-place Denver Nuggets were eliminated the following night at the hands of a buzzer-beating loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. This allowed the Blazers to make the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season.

Damian Lillard has shown throughout his career, and specifically in 2017, that he is a player than can deliver when he’s needed the most. This list also showed that when things align correctly, he has two talented teammates that can also put up big numbers.

Next: 2018 NBA Mock Draft: End of 2017 edition

If the Portland Trail Blazers want to experience more playoff success, they will need the best out of the Lillard, McCollum, Nurkic trio moving forward. Here’s to more big Blazer performances in 2018.