Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard has a sprained right knee and is listed as out for match 5 of Portland’s first-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Blazers said Tuesday that results from a second MRI confirmed the sprain, which Lillard suffered in the third quarter of Monday’s 135-115 defeat to the Lakers in Game 4.
Lillard underwent an initial MRI after the match, but the team said the results were inconclusive. Lillard scored just 11 points on Monday out of 3 of 9 shots in 27 minutes. He appeared to hurt his knee during a run to the hoop he planted his right foot on.
The Lakers have a 3-1 lead and can end the series on Wednesday in Game 5. Lillard was also playing through a sprained left index finger he suffered in Game 2.
Before the injuries, Lillard was the unanimous winner of the MVP award during the sowing match portion of the season restarted, the eight-game stretch that brought the Blazers into the play-in round against the Memphis Grizzlies. He has averaged 30.5 points per game within the Disney bubble since the season restarted on July 30, that second in league average only behind Houston’s James Harden, who averages 33 points per game.
It was much the same in Game 1 for Lillard, who lost 34 points and led Portland to a shocked victory over the Lakers.
Without Lillard, the Blazers will be looking to feature more CJ McCollum – who is playing for a nondisplaced back fracture – as well as second-year guard Anfernee Simons.
“We all know in the room that we are 3-1 down against a good team,” said manager Terry Stotts. “We know the challenge we face, but I think we all believe in what we can do. Of course we weren’t doing somersaults this morning. We have been beaten badly and have a lot of pride and I think we are looking for an opportunity to redeem us tomorrow. “
Lillard convinced the Blazers in the postseason with one dazzling performance after another. Portland has won its last three seed matches by a total of seven points; Lillard had 51, 61 and 42 points respectively in those games.
Lillard has been very resilient throughout his eight NBA seasons, all with the Blazers. They have played 703 regular season and playoff games since he was drafted; appeared in 670 of them, or 95.3%, and began his career playing in 286 consecutive Portland games, including playoff matchups.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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