Portland Trail Blazers opened their NBA 2022-23 regular season campaign with two consecutive victories as they defeated Sacramento Kings in their opener and Phoenix Suns in their second game on Friday night. The Rip City guard Damian Lillard dropped 41 points to help his team secure a two-point victory over the Suns.
After both the teams were tied at 102-102 at the end of the fourth quarter, the game between the Trail Blazers and the Suns was forced to overtime at the Moda Center in Portland.
The 32-year-old Damian Lillard scored 28 points on 12 shots in the first half and tied his career high score. Lillard went on to register a 40-piece game with seven rebounds and three assists to lead the Trail Blazers to an overtime victory against the Suns. Dame played 43 minutes in the game and managed 5-12 from beyond the 3-point arc and 12-12 from the free throws.
Watch Damian Lillard putting on a show:
Apart from Lillard, Rip City center Jusuf Nurkic made 20 points and 17 rebounds with 6-10 from the field while shooting guard Anfernee Simons 16 points and showed his clutch game in the overtime. It was a team effort and Lillard's impressive game that helped the Trail Blazers beat last season's regular season table toppers across conferences.
For Phoenix Suns, Devin Booker (33) and Deandre Ayton (26) combined for a total of 59 points while veteran Chris Paul scored 10 points and made 12 assists, however their efforts felt short as Portland defeated the Cactus Giants by 113-111.