Damian Lillard didn’t expect to have a record-setting night Friday.

Lillard was kicked in the leg earlier in the week during a demoralizing 127-118 loss to the Golden State Warriors and tweaked his ankle in a disappointing 107-101 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday. And when he stepped onto the court for warm-ups ahead of Friday’s game against the Brooklyn Nets, Lillard felt stiff and sore.

But while his body was aching, his mind remained strong.

“When the game started, I think it was just my mind,” Lillard said. “In my mind, I was like I’m going to jump, I’m going to dive into this game, so I can make my body follow that. That’s what happened."

Lillard set a franchise-record Friday night with a career-high 60 points, surpassing his previous record of 59 points in a single game. He became the 27th player in NBA history to score 60 or more points in a game and the first player in the NBA this season to accomplish the feat.

But by the time Lillard sank his final three-pointer at the buzzer, the game was already out of reach. Lillard scored a game-leading 16 points in the fourth quarter alone to try to single-handedly will Portland to victory, but it wasn’t enough as the Blazers (3-6) fell 119-115 to the Nets (4-4) for their fourth consecutive loss.

“It’s disappointing losing any game,” Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. “We’re 0-3 at home and on a four-game losing streak. They are all disappointing, but obviously, Dame was exceptional tonight and carried us, put us in a position to win the game."

After the game, Lillard didn’t celebrate his accomplishment. Instead, he sat in a chair staring at his locker for a long time before finally addressing the media.

“Any time you set a record, it’s obviously an accomplishment," Lillard said. “It’s not as fun when it’s not part of a win.”

Time and again, Lillard has propelled the Blazers to victory. He is averaging 33.4 points per game this season and has consistently gone on late runs, helping to keep Portland in games in the fourth quarter. But there is a limit to what Lillard can do on his own.

Lillard shot 57.6 percent Friday, going 19 for 33 from the field and 7 for 16 from three-point range. The rest of his teammates combined to shoot 32.8 percent from the field and 28.6 percent from beyond the arc. After the Nets went on a 17-2 run late in the fourth quarter, Lillard scored Portland’s next 10 points. But the Blazers still came up just short.

“You’ve got to be willing to do a little bit more than the other team to win games," Lillard said. "I think we compete, I think we are together, I think we’re trying to do all the right things, but that little bit of wanting it more than the other team, and wanting it more doesn’t mean playing harder. It means being able to be sharp one more possession, being able to do your job when you’re tired and when you’re wearing down, being able to count on the next guy to do his job and trust him to do that, so you do your job right. So, all those things have got to connect in the big moments of the game and they haven’t been connecting for us.”

Lillard’s backcourt mate, CJ McCollum, had a particularly disappointing outing Friday. As Lillard carried the team, McCollum scored just eight points in 40 minutes. McCollum has shot just 33.9 percent from the field over the last five games. He shot 21.1 percent Friday night.

“Obviously, I want to make shots and I haven’t,” McCollum said. “I haven’t performed as well as I would like offensively and it’s quite obvious. So, I got to figure out how to get myself going and help this team. I can’t leave Dame out there on the hook, put up 60. Those should be games where we win.”

After Friday’s game, the Blazers locker room was quiet. Most players left quickly, while those that stuck around spoke in hushed tones as they tried to process yet another loss. Portland is riding a four-game losing streak for the first time since the 2017-18 season.

Center Hassan Whiteside sat at his locker with both his knees wrapped in ice and admitted that he felt sore after back-to-back games. Forward Rodney Hood (back spasms) and center Skal Labissiere (right ankle sprain) received treatment from the medical staff after becoming the latest Blazers to leave a game early and join a growing injury list.

But even with the injuries and poor run of form, Lillard remained optimistic. Three hours earlier, he had felt sore and beat up as he took the court. Yet, he was able to fight through the aches and pains to will himself to the best scoring performance of his career.

Now, the Blazers have a chance to prove as a group that they can fight their way out of their early season hole as well.

“We can’t fold," Lillard said. "In these types of situations, the most important thing is obviously staying together and never folding. The teams that fold and just give into it, it just keeps going. The teams that keep working and stay together and keep our minds right -- even though y’all don’t want to hear that -- if we keep our minds right and not fold, stuff will start going in the right direction.”

-- Jamie Goldberg | jgoldberg@oregonian.com

503-853-3761 | @jamiebgoldberg

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