C.J. McCollum had himself a night to remember as he exploded for an incredible career-high in the Portland Trail Blazers' 124-108 rout of the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night.The shooting guard went off for his first ever 50-point game and was lights out in front of a raucous crowd at the Moda Center.McCollum impressively put up the half century of points in just three quarters. He becomes the first player to reach that mark in under 30 minutes since Golden State Warriors star Klay Thompson hit 60 points in 29 minutes in 2016.The 26-year-old also set an astonishing Blazers franchise record as he poured in 28 points in the first quarter - the most by any player in a single quarter in the team's history.It's also the highest first-quarter scoring performance in the NBA this season.McCollum was hugely efficient from the field as he shot 18-of-25, including 6-of-9 from three-point range and a perfect 8-of-8 at the free-throw line."The guys did a good job of getting me open," McCollum said, per ESPN. "I had some good looks early in motion offence. I was able to hit some pull-ups and threes. Once I saw the ball go in, I knew it was going to be a good night."

This was the 10th 50-point game in Portland's history and C.J. was just nine points shy of the record held by Damian Lillard.

He becomes the seventh member of the team's 50-point club, joining Lillard, Damon Stoudamire, Brandon Roy, Andre Miller, Clyde Drexler and Geoff Petrie.

"I'm not into chasing records, man. I just want to win,'' McCollum said. "Even throughout the game, I looked up, and I was like, I can get 40. And then Ed [Davis] was like, 'No, you need 50.' And [Lillard] was like, 'Get 50.' So I was like, 'OK, I'll get 50 if you guys want me to.'''

Head coach Terry Stotts decided to bench his star for the fourth quarter with the Trail Blazers up by 25 and refused to give in to the crowd's demands to put him back into the game.

"Too risky,'' Stotts said. "We were up 25, and I would have left him in to get 50, but 50 is a good number.

"I don't know what the right word is, but a very impressive outing for CJ. What he did in the first quarter was amazing. It was fun to sit back and watch that.''

The former Lehigh product is now averaging 22 points, 3.3 assists and 4.0 rebounds per game this campaign and is enjoying another very productive year.

The win sees the Blazers improve to 29-22 and keep a firm grip on one of the playoff positions.

With displays like this from McCollum, it would be a mistake to sleep on the Oregon-based franchise as they could be dangerous opponents in the west.