Damian Lillard produced the most exciting performance of the NBA season on Sunday when he scored a whopping 71 points against the Houston Rockets. But following the spectacular showing, Lillard was required to take a blood-drawn drug test by the NBA, and he let it be known that he wasn't happy about it.
"I was like, 'Are y'all serious?'" Lillard said. "I did the urine test yesterday, and then they backed it up with the blood-drawn tonight after the game -- that's actually my first time in my career being tested after a game."
Dame said tonight was the first time he had been blood-draw drug-tested following a game in his entire career.
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) February 27, 2023
His full thoughts on it: pic.twitter.com/ZKu5vIKmrd
Lillard added that he has a phobia when it comes to needles, so that's another reason that he wasn't thrilled about having to get the blood-drawn test.
"They know that I'm scared of needles. I know I got a lot of tattoos, but when you doing a blood draw it's different than tattoos," he added.
With the effort, Lillard became just the eighth player in NBA history to score at least 70 points in a game. In addition, he tied Cleveland Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell for the most points in an NBA game this season after Mitchell scored 71 points against the Chicago Bulls on Jan. 2.
Lillard's 71 points came on 22-of-38 shooting and he connected on 13 of his 22 3-point attempts. The Portland guard also nailed all 14 shots from the free throw line. His 13 3-pointers were one shy of tying Golden State Warriors sharpshooter Klay Thompson's record for the most in a single game.
Dame's 71 points are tied with Mitchell, Elgin Baylor (1960) and David Robinson (1994) for the eighth-most points scored in an NBA game. Of course, Wilt Chamberlain owns the record for scoring 100 points on March 2, 1962.
