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USATSI

When Donovan Mitchell set the NBA record for most 3-pointers in a playoff series last year, he needed all seven games of a wild first-round series against the Denver Nuggets to do it. The Nuggets again allowed that record to be broken this postseason, but it came in an even more unbelievable fashion this time around. 

Mitchell made 33 3-pointers against the Nuggets last year. It was a performance for the ages in which he scored 50 points in two of the seven games. But Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard has been even better from behind the arc in this series. Not only did he break Mitchell's record in Game 6 rather than Game 7, but he made his 34th 3-pointer of the series in the first half on Thursday. Then he capped it with this stepback beauty to end the second quarter. 

Lillard set the NBA record for most 3-pointers in a playoff game by making 12 in Game 5 alone. Lillard scored 55 in that double-overtime thriller, but the Blazers lost anyway. Robert Covington missed multiple dunks down the stretch and Lillard's Blazers teammates failed to give him any meaningful scoring support.

Ironically, though, many of the players that top the all-time 3-point rankings in a single series wound up losing in the end. Mitchell did last season. Jamal Murray is tied for No. 3 and won his matchup, but that was against Mitchell's Jazz last year. Also tied with Murray at No. 3 is Stephen Curry, who made 32 3-pointers en route to losing the 2016 NBA Finals.

Portland leads Game 6 against Denver as of this writing. A win would extend their season and force a winner-take-all Game 7 in Denver. If Portland makes it that far, Lillard would have a chance to push his record into the 40s, setting a standard that would be almost impossible for anyone else to reach.