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Damian Lillard’s Injury Status For Game 3 vs Lakers

Damian Lillard’s Injury Status For Game 3 vs Lakers

Damian Lillard’s Injury Status For Game 3 vs Lakers

Damian Lillard’s injury status for Game 3 has been revealed. The Portland Trail Blazers star will participate in Saturday night’s showdown between the Blazers and Los Angeles Lakers despite suffering a dislocated finger in Game 2.

“I’m playing,” he confirmed on Thursday night.

Lillard dislocated his left index finger during an attempted steal on Anthony Davis. It was immediately clear that something went wrong, and he subsequently exited the game.

By that point, the Lakers had a commanding lead and it was obvious that a comeback simply wasn’t in the cards for the Blazers.

“It’s just sore, a little bit tender to the touch,” Lillard admitted after the fact.

“Swollen and uncomfortable.”

Los Angeles, led by Davis, took control early and never looked back. By the third quarter, the Lakers were already up by 30 points.

It was a stark turnaround from what had happened on Tuesday night.

Lillard scored just 18 points on Thursday night after exploding for 34 in the first game of the series. It looked like a combination of Los Angeles’ defense getting to him better and him just being off the mark.

“We didn’t relax, they just went after it harder than we did,” he said after Game 2.

“It was their night. It didn’t help that we didn’t play well on the offensive end.”

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Damian Lillard’s Injury Status Will Be A Big Storyline

Lillard has been a man possessed ever since entering the NBA Bubble.

Heading into Game 2 on Thursday evening, Lillard was averaging 43 points per outing. Over the course of the nine games that happened prior to the postseason commencing, Lillard scored at minimum 30 points on all but three occasions. Furthermore, the 30-year-old scored at least 40 points on four different occasions.

The Oakland-bred superstar received the NBA Bubble MVP award for his troubles. He was a unanimous selection.

When Lillard is on fire, he is very tough to stop. Lakers star LeBron James acknowledged this much about him and CJ McCollum following Game 2.

“You can’t pressure them because they live under the pressure, they succeed under the pressure, they thrive under pressure,” he said.

“You can’t have breakdowns. When you have a defensive strategy you have to execute that strategy for 48 minutes, or for the minutes that they’re on the floor. I think we did a great job of that tonight.”

The one thing that can permanently slow Lillard down is an injury. Fortunately for him and the Blazers, however, it appears the ailment he suffered on Thursday night is not one that should leave a lasting impact on any of the parties involved going forward.

According to multiple medical experts, dislocated fingers like the one Lillard is currently dealing with typically leave players out for a game or less.

That means although it is likely painful, it is not a long-lasting injury.

Of course, just because something doesn’t keep a player from playing doesn’t mean it won’t hamper them throughout the game. It will be interesting to see if Lillard’s game ultimately looks any different as a result of what has transpired. Given how much Portland relies on him to get everyone going offensively early and then carry them late, him being as close as possible to 100 percent will be vital.

Game 3 between the Lakers and Blazers is scheduled to take place on Saturday night at 5:30 pm.

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Anthony Amador

A graduate from the University of Texas, Anthony Amador has been credentialed to cover the Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks and high school games all over the Lone Star State. Currently, his primary beats are the NBA, MLB, NFL and UFC.

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