Trail Blazers principal owner Damian Lillard will not play on Thursday against the 76ers because of abdominal distention, adding to Portland’s growing list of injuries.
Lillard, the NBA’s third-highest scorer, indicated that he considered staying out of Portland’s previous game on Tuesday against the Wizards, saying he “felt I could barely move there to start the game”.
Lillard was initially listed as questionable against Philadelphia in the official NBA injury report, but the Blazers ruled him out on Thursday afternoon.
Portland holders CJ McCollum (foot), Jusuf Nurkic (wrist) and Derrick Jones Jr. (foot) are all out due to long-term injuries, and swingman Nassir Little (knee) was also eliminated on Thursday against the Leading Sixers of the Eastern Conference.
Lillard scored 32 points on Tuesday to lead injury-plagued Portland in his 132-121 victory in Washington. He said after the game that he was “pushing and fighting” throughout the competition because he “knew how important it was for our season”.
Lillard, 30, averages 29.1 points and 7.3 assists – the NBA’s eighth best mark – in 20 games this season.