Portland Trail Blazers star guard Damian Lillard has been ruled out of Thursday’s road game against the Philadelphia 76ers due to an abdominal strain.
Lillard has been dealing with the issue in recent days and considered sitting out Tuesday against the Washington Wizards before opting to play. He recorded 32 points and eight assists in 39 minutes in a 132-121 road victory.
“I’ve been dealing with some nagging things myself,” Lillard said after the contest. “Even coming into tonight, I felt like I could barely move out there to start the game. I was even thinking ‘Man, should I have just sat last night or sat tonight?’ or whatever just because I didn’t think like I could move well.
“But in my mind, I was pushing and fighting through that the whole game because I know how important this one was for us and our season.”
Lillard ranks third in the NBA with a 29.1 scoring average. He has tallied 30 or more points in seven of the past 10 games.
Lillard’s absence comes during a time in which the Trail Blazers (11-9) are without two other starters: shooting guard CJ McCollum (fractured left foot) and center Jusuf Nurkic (fractured right wrist).
Forwards Nassir Little (knee) and Derrick Jones Jr. (foot) also have been ruled out against the 76ers.
(Field Level Media)
