Damian Lillard became the eighth player in NBA history to score 70 or more points in a game after a monster 71-point performance against Houston on Sunday night. He nailed 13 three-pointers in a 131-114 win over the Rockets. Lillard, 32, is the oldest player ever to break the 70-point barrier – and the only player over 30 to do it. He tied Donovan Mitchell for the top scoring performance of the season; Mitchell dropped 71 on Chicago on January 2. Lillard’s previous high game was 61, which he had accomplished twice. On the night, Lillard was 22 of 38 from the floor and 14 of 14 from the free-throw line. Can Lillard’s Trail Blazers win the NBA championship? We’ll see where they rank on the NBA betting odds list and look at some insights on other contenders for the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
NBA News: Odds to Win the Championship after Week 19
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| Boston Celtics | +300 |
| Phoenix Suns | +450 |
| Milwaukee Bucks | +500 |
| Denver Nuggets | +700 |
| L.A. Clippers | +1100 |
| Philadelphia 76ers | +1200 |
| Golden State Warriors, Memphis Grizzlies, Dallas Mavericks | +1600 |
| Cleveland Cavaliers, L.A. Lakers | +3000 |
| New Orleans Pelicans | +5000 |
| Miami Heat | +6600 |
| Sacramento Kings | +10000 |
| Atlanta Hawks, N.Y. Knicks | +15000 |
| Toronto Raptors | +17500 |
| Minnesota Timberwolves | +25000 |
| Chicago Bulls, Portland Trail Blazers, Utah Jazz, Washington Wizards, Oklahoma City Thunder | +50000 |
| Indiana Pacers, Charlotte Hornets, Detroit Pistons, Orlando Magic, San Antonio Spurs, Houston Rockets | +100000 |
Boston has won nine of 11, including an impressive win over Philadelphia on Saturday. The Celtics trailed the 76ers by 15 points in the third quarter before finding a new gear and coming back to win, 110-107, thanks to a three-ball with 1.3 seconds left. Jaylen Brown had 26 in a huge win. Things don’t get much easier for the Celtics, though, with two games against the Knicks and dates with Cleveland and Brooklyn this week.
Milwaukee has a 14-game winning streak going right now and have not lost a game in the month of February. Their rampage has included two wins over the Clippers and Heat apiece as well as wins over Boston and Phoenix. Giannis Antetokounmpo has missed the last four games, but the rest of the team has shown up big-time to keep the streak going.
Denver has won five of six and continue to pad their lead over a puzzling Western Conference. Nikola Jokic could make it three MVP trophies in three years as he continues to post triple-doubles, so that loss to the Grizzlies a few days ago seems less disappointing.
Philadelphia has been getting huge numbers from both Joel Embiid and James Harden as the 76ers look to break through and live up to the promise they’ve been flashing for several seasons now. Can they get enough defensive stops to get out of the East in the playoffs?
Cleveland walloped Toronto, 118-93, to end a three-game skid. The problem that the Cavaliers have is their inconsistency against other top NBA contenders. They do get to play Boston both this week and next week, so we’ll see how that measuring stick works out for them.
Memphis has won four of six, with their losses coming to Boston and Philadelphia. Their win over Denver was impressive, and the fact that Jaren Jackson Jr and Desmond Bane are taking some of the scoring pressure off Ja Morant makes a deep postseason run more of a possibility.
New York has won seven of eight as the Jalen Brunson-Julius Randle pairing gets better with each passing month. They are bearing down on Brooklyn for fifth place in the East, but they have big games this week against Boston, Brooklyn and Miami.
Sacramento has won three in a row coming out of the All-Star break, taking down Portland, the Clippers and Oklahoma City, building their Pacific Division lead. Malik Monk’s 45-point game against the Clippers would have been front-line news if he didn’t play in…Sacramento.
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