Sunday night. NBA fans tuning in to the Portland Trail Blazers vs. Houston Rockets matchup bore witness to a historic scoring night from Blazers point guard Damian Lillard.

Witnessing history. What a weird phrase. To be a witness to something that someone in a half-century will read about is something incredibly hard to comprehend. It is something that is incredibly hard to appreciate.

But, all the while, history has been made several times in the 2023 season. LeBron James broke the scoring record, Donovan Mitchell scored 71 points of his own, and the second-highest-scoring NBA game of all time, all within one season of one another.

The most recent history was Sunday night, as Lillard scored 71 points in a victory against the Houston Rockets, just two nights after the aforementioned second-highest-scoring game of all time.

Along with the 71 points, Lillard knocked down 13 3-pointers, just one shy of tying the all-time record for most makes in a single game. Luckily for Dame, both the 71 and 13 threes are new Blazers franchise records, so his performance will not soon be forgotten.

Notably, Lillard became the eighth different player to score 70 points in NBA history. At 32, he’s the oldest player in NBA history with a 70-point game and the only player 30 or older to accomplish the feat, according to ESPN.

That is not the only way in which the performance was historical, however, as he also is the only player in NBA history to score 70 points and make at least 10 3-pointers in a single game, according to CBS Sports.

By tallying his 71 in just 39 minutes of play, Lillard also set the new NBA record for most points in under 40 minutes of play in a single game.

Throughout the entire game, it was “Dame Time,” and Lillard said himself that he was in attack mode.

“I enjoy those moments in the game when I’m just going after people. When I’m in attack mode,” Lillard said in his postgame interview.

The performance is not uncommon for a player of Lillard’s caliber, as it was also Lillard’s fifth career 60-point game, breaking a tie for third-most in NBA history; only Wilt Chamberlain (32) and Kobe Bryant (six) have more, according to ESPN.

Spoiling the moment was the NBA league office, who drug tested Lillard after the performance in case more than just talent was responsible for his historic performance, which he did not appreciate as he is scared of needles.

“I know I’ve got a lot of tattoos, but when you’re doing a blood draw, it’s different from tattoos. It brought me down from here to the floor,” Lillard said after the game.

Needless to say, Lillard’s legendary performance was 100% talent, 0% substance-aided.

Despite averaging over 32 points per game along with seven assists and efficient shooting, Lillard is on the outside of MVP consideration. Not without good reason, as the Blazers remain on the outside looking in for playoff contention.

Lillard is trying his hardest to will them to the playoffs, playing the best basketball of his career over the last 20 games, but injuries and poor play in the clutch have hampered the Blazers throughout the 2023 season.

Whether or not he can get them to the promised land of the NBA playoffs is irrelevant to the history he made Sunday night.

Being a fan in the digital age and getting to witness history in sports is truly one of the greatest experiences, even more so when that history is made by a player on one’s favorite team.