In the Trail Blazers’ Game 3 loss Saturday night, Lillard shot just 5 of 18 and finished with 19 points in 40 minutes.
Now it’s starting to make sense why he’s been so average, and this might just be an explanation as to why the Blazers guard is struggling so mightily.
It was reported after Game 3 that Lillard has separated ribs and is playing through the injury.
Portland Trail Blazers All-NBA star Damian Lillard has separated ribs and is playing through the injury, league sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium. Lillard shot 5-of-18 in Game 3 loss to Warriors.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) May 19, 2019
ESPN’s Tim MacMahon confirmed the news, and provided a few more details.
A source confirmed that Damian Lillard has a separated rib but downplayed the impact of the injury on his performance. “Not a story, he always plays through injuries.”
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) May 19, 2019
The injury appears to have occurred during Game 2 of the series when Warriors center Kevon Looney landed on Lillard as they went for a loose ball.
Here is the play where Damian Lillard sustained the reported rib injury pic.twitter.com/mwiwWg6oSX
— NBC Sports Northwest (@NBCSNorthwest) May 19, 2019
Lillard is shooting 32.9 percent (15 of 46) and averaging 20.3 points per game.
A far cry from his earlier playoff performances.
Good thing they waited til after Game 3 to reveal his injury.
I guess no one thinks about all the gamblers out there hoping everything is fair and square.
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