The Portland Trail Blazers announced that Damian Lillard has been diagnosed with a sprained right knee and will not play in Game 5.
The results of a second MRI confirm Damian Lillard with a right knee sprain. Lillard is listed as out for Game 5.
— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) August 25, 2020
Lillard suffered a knee injury during the third quarter of the Blazers' 135-115 blowout loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 4. He left the game immediately and did not return, finishing with just 11 points shooting 3-for-9 from the field and 1-for-2 from 3-point range.
The loss places Portland against all odds, down 3-1 to the Lakers and just one game away from elimination. If the Trail Blazers find a way to win without their All-Star guard, it does not seem likely that he'll return at all in this series, according to Yahoo Sports' Chris Haynes.
If this is the last we see of Lillard, it caps off a legendary run that we will not soon forget.
He averaged 37.6 points, 9.6 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 1.4 steals shooting 49.7% from the field and 43.6% from beyond the arc in Portland's eight seeding games to help his team reach the NBA's first-ever playoff play-in game. His 37.6 points per game average came on the heels of one 60-point game, one 50-point game, two 40-point games and a 30-point game, helping him earn the Seeding Games Most Valuable Player award.
Lillard then went on to score 31 points to go with 10 assists to win the play-in game, giving the Trail Blazers a full head of steam heading into the postseason. Portland took Game 1 over the No. 1 seeded Lakers behind Lillard's 34 points, but have since dropped three straight games and face elimination.
The Blazers and Lakers are set to face off for Game 5 on Thursday, Aug. 26.
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