LeBron James, Damian Lillard Headline Wild NBA Sunday

NBA fans witnessed historic basketball performances on Sunday, highlighted by the incredible games of the Los Angeles Lakers and the Portland Trailblazers.

LeBron James and the LA Lakers overcame a 27-point deficit to defeat the Dallas Mavericks 111-108 at the American Airlines Center. It was the largest comeback victory in the NBA this season and the largest Lakers rebound victory since 2002.

By the middle of the second quarter, the Mavericks had a commanding 48-21 lead over the Lakers after limiting them to just 16 points in the first quarter, according to Yahoo! Sports.

The Lakers, though, chipped away and eventually were able to completely hold down the Mavericks' superstar duo of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving in the game's second half.

Anthony Davis scored 30 points to lead the Lakers and grabbed 15 boards; his big put-back slam in the last seconds helped the team pull away for a three-point victory.

LeBron James scored 26 points and grabbed eight rebounds while Jarred Vanderbilt scored 15 and grabbed 17 boards. The victory gave the Lakers their third consecutive victory and their fourth in five outings.

It's Dame Time!

Meanwhile, Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers scored 71 points in their 131-114 victory against the Houston Rockets on Sunday, an all-time franchise high.

The superstar guard's 71 points are the most scored by any NBA player this year, tied with Donovan Mitchell.
He set a new personal best by making a career-high 13 of twenty-two three-point attempts. This is the second-highest single-season total in NBA history, behind only Klay Thompson's 14 in 2018.

Damian Lillard joined Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor, David Robinson, David Thompson, Kobe Bryant, Devin Booker, and Mitchell as the only other players in NBA history to score 70 or more points in a game, according to The Athletic.

Lillard averages 36.1 points, 7.1 assists, and six rebounds a game while shooting 95.6% from the free-throw line and 48.6% from the field overall.

After the victory, the Blazers move to 28-31 and are now tied for 11th in the Western Conference with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Fans all across the Internet were blown away by the wild NBA action on Sunday, and they couldn't help but share their thoughts online. Jake (@SuperiorNBA), a sports fan and propagandist, summed up why now is a fantastic moment to be a basketball fan in this Twitter post:

User king_j1723 agreed to Jake's tweet, saying "Great day for an NBA fan".

Tags

NBA, Lebron james, Damian lillard, Portland Trail Blazers, Los angeles lakers, Basketball, United States