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Damian Lillard suffered an ankle injury in the fourth quarter of the Trail Blazers’ disheartening loss to the Mavericks tonight.
Lillard tweaks his ankle, remains in game. #ripcity https://t.co/Q7dncn6uxC pic.twitter.com/gMpEBCH9bA
— NBC Sports Northwest (@NBCSNorthwest) April 4, 2018
He struggled down the stretch, and the situation worsened in the locker room, according to NBC Sports Northwest’s Jason Quick.
Quick relayed Lillard’s struggle to walk, along with his concerns about upcoming games, and ended with an eye-opening image:
With more than half of team already showered and gone, Lillard limps into locker room in full uniform. Looks like they were examining left ankle he turned. Pronounced limp as he heads to shower.
— Jason Quick (@jwquick) April 4, 2018
Seen Lillard hobbled this bad only twice before: At Memphis earlier this year and at Miami last year with plantar fasciitis
— Jason Quick (@jwquick) April 4, 2018
Lillard on ankle: “I think I have a pretty high pain tolerance but I’m going to be smart about it. It’s the end of the season, we’re going into playoffs so I have to be smart that one thing doesn’t turn into another.”
— Jason Quick (@jwquick) April 4, 2018
Lillard was transported from locker room to team bus via cart because of his sprained left ankle. pic.twitter.com/62CQVMMqd7
— Jason Quick (@jwquick) April 4, 2018
With a record of 48-30 after tonight’s loss, the Blazers are attempting to hold off the San Antonio Spurs (45-32) and Utah Jazz (45-33) for the third seed and homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
Portland plays in San Antonio Saturday night with the head-to-head tiebreaker on the line, but will first take on the Rockets Thursday night in Houston. The Blazers play the Jazz in their regular season finale next Wednesday.