Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard has left Game 4 of an Eastern Conference first-round playoff series with the Indiana Pacers after hurting his lower left leg in the first quarter.
Lillard was helped off the floor and into the locker room after suffering the non-contact injury. The Bucks announced he won’t return to the game. There is fear that Lillard suffered a torn Achilles, according to NBA insider Chris Haynes.
The seven-time all-NBA player was behind the 3-point line when the ball bounced toward him. Lillard used his left hand to tip the ball toward teammate Gary Trent Jr., then went down and grabbed the lower part of his left leg, around his ankle. He continued to sit on the floor as play resumed on the other end of the court.
After a foul stopped play, Milwaukee’s Kyle Kuzma helped Lillard up. Lillard then started limping and had to be helped off the court and into the locker room.
Lillard had missed the Bucks’ last 14 regular-season games and the first game of this series while dealing with deep vein thrombosis in his right calf. Lillard was taken off blood-thinning medication and cleared to resume full basketball activities at the end of the regular season, and he returned to action for Game 2 of this series on Tuesday.
Deep vein thrombosis is an abnormal clot within a vessel where the congealing of blood blocks the flow through on the way back to the heart.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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