Portland Trail Blazers edged over Dallas Mavericks 134-131 Tuesday, surpassing Memphis Grizzlies to reach the No. 8 spot in the Western Conference and gaining the upper hand in the competition for the last playoff.

Damian Lillard again became the biggest contributor to Rip City's victory after dropping 61 points, five rebounds and eight assists. He became the first player in Portland franchise history to score 50+points in two straight games and the second in NBA history to have three 60+point games in one season. Legendary Wilt Chamberlain was the only last person to achieve this feat.

Sixty-one was also the second-highest score allowed by the Mavericks after Kobe Bryant's 62 points in 2005.

"I told you when I first came here. I said, 'I ain't coming here to waste my time.' They gave us a chance to get in like we asked for, and that's what we're here to do. Job still ain't done, but you know what I'm here for. Our work ain't done yet, but we're fighting for it," Lillard told TNT sideline reporter Chris Haynes after the game.

Before the restart, the Trail Blazers were never expected to lead in the playoff race, despite them entering the Conference Finals last season. Lillard tried to carry the team on his shoulders and actually did manage to put up outstanding performances from time to time but that wasn't enough to pull the Trial Blazers out of the slump.

So what changed?

For starters, Jusuf Nurkic and Zach Collins returned from injuries. Collins is young, energetic, and can add vigor to the team's defense. Nurkic can do everything Hassan Whiteside can, but Nurkic can also do something Whiteside can't - finding open teammate in the weak side after setting screen for perimeter slashers.

The other major change happened in forward position. Last season, Portland had Al-Farouq Aminu and Maurice Harkless, two qualified defenders that were left open in offense, as forwards. In the series against the Golden State Warriors, they became the key for the opponents to tear Portland's offense: Andre Iguodala and Draymond Green invested their 100 percent attention in limiting Lillard without even looking at Aminu or Harkless – why bother to even look at them since the only thing they could do in offense was to catch the ball and miss the shot?

This season, the two were replaced by Carmelo Anthony and Gary Trent Jr. The latter could bury 1.8 triples at a 3-point rate of 42.5 percent per game while the former just had his third 20+point game in a row. When Lillard calls for screen in the arc and Trent Jr., Anthony stand outside the 3-point line in the strong and weak sides respectively, the opponents will have to make some tough decisions – should they focus all the defensive resources on Lillard and Nurkic to test on the shooting of Trent Jr. and Anthony, or should they bet on their outside and inside defenders?

Judging by the Trail Blazers' and Lillard's performance during the restart, neither sounds smart.

Suns seven straight wins are great, but not good enough for playoffs

Phoenix Suns continued to extend their perfect record as they beat Philadelphia 76ers 130-117, pocketing their seventh win in a row. Devin Booker put down 35 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. This was the 91st 30+point game by Booker who surpassed Walter Davis to lead in this area in franchise history of the Suns.

However, despite Phoenix's amazing performance, there’s still a chance for the team to miss the play-in, not to mention the playoffs. Thanks to the results of the other two games on Tuesday – Boston Celtics 122-107 Memphis Grizzlies, San Antonio Spurs 123-105 Houston Rockets – all three teams of No. 9 to No. 11 trailed Portland by half a game. Moreover, once Memphis get another win, they will seal the No. 9 ranking because they own the tiebreaker. Their last rival are Milwaukee Bucks. San Antonio and Phoenix will meet Utah Jazz and Dallas respectively.

Booker was aware that his team may still miss the playoffs even if they win all the games. "That's life, man. We're controlling what we can control. That's the eight games that we play in. So I'm proud of my guys regardless. We came in here with the right mindset, and it could have been different. People could have been frustrated, coming off of a four-month hiatus to straight to basketball and leaving your family," said Booker.

"But we came in, we locked in, and made the sacrifices that we need to make, so I don't think there's going to be any sad faces around here, whether we leave here in the playoffs or not. We've put the work in and we've grown as a team. We've took tremendous strides that I think will build for us for continuing years to come."

Other games on Tuesday:

Brooklyn Nets 108-96 Orlando Magic

New Orleans Pelicans 106-112 Sacramento Kings

Milwaukee Bucks 126-113 Washington Wizards