Damian Lillard Ties Kobe Bryant for 3rd-Most Points Ever in a 6-Game Stretch

With the Portland Trail Blazers looking for a spark after a disappointing start this season, Damian Lillard's historic run has the team back in the Western Conference playoff picture. 

Per ESPN Stats & Information (h/t ESPN's Kevin Pelton), Lillard's 293 points in Portland's last six games are tied with Kobe Bryant for the most by any player in the past 20 seasons. 

After Lillard dropped 51 points and 12 assists Saturday against the Utah Jazz, the Elias Sports Bureau noted he's the first player in NBA history to average 45 points and 10 assists in a six-game span:

"Teams are trying to get more aggressive and make it harder for me," Lillard said of his performance, via Pelton. "I'm just making the plays that I see. When I see them being aggressive, I'm not backing out. I'm going to continue being aggressive against it instead of just giving in to it."

James Harden owns the top two scoring streaks over the past 20 seasons, with both overlapping earlier in 2019-20. The Houston Rockets star racked up 299 points in six games from Jan. 13-23 and 293 from Jan. 14-25. 

Bryant's six-game streak ran from March 15-25, 2007. It actually started out with a modest performance, at least by these standards, with 25 points against the Denver Nuggets.

The Los Angeles Lakers legend kicked things up a notch with four straight 50-point games before capping off his run with 43 points against the Golden State Warriors. 

Lillard's streak began on Jan. 20 when he scored a career-high 61 against Golden State. He's scored at least 36 points in every game during this streak, including at least 47 points five times. The five-time All-Star scored 34 points in consecutive games against the Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder right before this six-game run. 

One of the biggest reasons for Lillard's scoring success is three-point shooting. He's made at least six threes in all six games, the longest streak in NBA history, and is shooting 57 percent behind the arc on 14.3 attempts per game. 

The Blazers (23-27) have won four straight games and are 1.5 games behind the Memphis Grizzlies for the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference. 

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The newest member of Tuesday’s night “NBA on TNT” broadcast team, and host of B/R’s “The Lefkoe Show” podcast, Adam Lefkoe, joins “The Full 48 with Howard Beck” to discuss Kobe Bryant’s tragic passing, Adam’s upcoming debut on “NBA on TNT,” the chemistry between Shaq, Dwyane Wade, and Candace Parker, what he’s stealing from Ernie Johnson, the Philadelphia 76ers, and Allen Iverson.