“It Was Painful”: Damian Lillard Twists Knee & Aggravates Achilles In Bucks’ OT Loss Against Pacers

Game 3 of the Playoffs matchup between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Indiana Pacers concluded a few hours ago. During its course, Bucks point guard Damian Lillard sent many into a state of worry after possibly developing an Achilles Injury. The incident occurred during the first quarter, after Lillard dashed to deposit the ball through the basket but was blocked by Pascal Siakam. The action resulted in him falling down and landing hard on his left leg. While he departed towards the locker room in the aftermath of the incident, the player returned a few minutes before the first half was to be concluded.

During the post-game interview, Lillard revealed that Pascal Siakam landed on the player’s foot, which caused his knee to get twisted. The incident occurred so fast, both rivals didn’t have time to think. “It was painful, like initially, so I just stayed down and they was like ‘Let’s go back’” said Lillard. “And I just was like you know ‘Let me sit down for a second on the bench to see if it ease up”.

Despite the fact that the 33-year-old point guard returned to the main lineup after just one minute, his productivity was lowered as a result of his injury. By the time the game drew to a close, however, he had put up a respectable score total of 28 points, 1 rebound and 8 assists. Khris Middleton took the responsibility of covering up for Lillard and delivered an explosive performance through his 42 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists. The duo’s combined scores helped the game to go into overtime, but it still wasn’t enough and the Bucks lost the matchup by 118-121.

With Giannis Antetokounmpo being out of the main lineup and not expected to return soon, the Milwaukee Bucks were already in precarious waters going into their third playoffs game. Both teams held a 1-1 lead prior to the matchup at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis but now, the Pacers have the high ground.

Damian Lillard’s aggravated Achilles prevented him from making a significant contribution during overtime

With a score of 111-111, the Bucks and the Pacers managed to get themselves involved in an overtime round. While he may have been thankful for the saving grace, Damian Lillard knew that he wouldn’t be much help during the round.

“I aggravated my Achilles at the end of the fourth quarter” revealed the 8x NBA All-Star. “One of the last plays, I was just fouling but I tried to run around a dude and I just pushed off and just reaggravated it.”

Bucks head coach Doc Rivers was also made aware of what to expect. During a statement, the coach revealed “Dame was really struggling. In the overtime, he literally said, ‘I’ll be the decoy. I just can’t go as far as explosion.’ So I thought Dame just being out there was huge for us.”

With Lillard being the ‘decoy’, Khris Middleton scored all seven of the team’s points during the extra session.

With their rivals possessing the lead, the Bucks can’t afford to lose their top two leading scorers during this precarious time. Doc Rivers is yet to give an update on the availability of the point guard for Game 4. Till then, all that fans can do is speculate.