Damian Lillard, guard of the Trail Blazers, will not play Thursday against the 76ers due to abdominal tension, adding to Portland’s growing list of injuries.
Lillard, the NBA’s third-highest scorer, said he considered considering Portland’s previous game against the Wizards on Tuesday, saying he “felt I could barely move to start the game.”
Lillard was initially classified as questionable against Philadelphia in the official NBA injury report, but the Blazers ruled him out Thursday afternoon.
Portland starters CJ McCollum (foot), Jusuf Nurkic (wrist) and Derrick Jones Jr (foot) are out of action with long-term injuries, and swinger Nassir Little (knee) was also ruled out Thursday against the Sixers leading the Eastern Conference. .
Lillard scored 32 points Tuesday to take Portland, plagued by injuries, to a 132-121 victory over Washington. He said after the match that he was “pushing and fighting” throughout the competition because “he knew how important this was for our season.”
Lillard, 30, averages 29.1 points and 7.3 assists (the eighth-best mark in the NBA) in 20 games this season.