Trail Blazers star guard Damian Lillard will not play Thursday against the 76ers because of an abdominal strain, adding to Portland’s growing list of injuries.
Lillard, the NBA’s third-leading scorer, indicated that he considered sitting out Portland’s previous game Tuesday against the Wizards, saying he “felt like I could barely move out there to start the game.”
Lillard initially was listed as questionable against Philadelphia on the NBA’s official injury report, but the Blazers ruled him out later Thursday afternoon.
Portland starters CJ McCollum (foot), Jusuf Nurkic (wrist) and Derrick Jones Jr. (foot) all are sidelined with long-term injuries, and swingman Nassir Little (knee) also has been ruled out Thursday against the Eastern Conference-leading Sixers.
Lillard scored 32 points Tuesday to lead injury-plagued Portland to a 132-121 victory in Washington. He said after the game that he was “pushing and fighting” throughout the contest because he “knew how important this one was for our season.”
Lillard, 30, is averaging 29.1 points and 7.3 assists — the eighth-best mark in the NBA — in 20 games this season.