Bucks' Lillard leaves Game 4 of Pacers series with injury to his lower left leg

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard left Game 4 of an Eastern Conference first-round playoff series with the Indiana Pacers on Sunday after getting helped off the court and into the locker room in the first quarter.

The preliminary examination of Lillard indicated a possible Achilles tendon injury, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press.

Further evaluation will take place Monday, the person told the AP on condition of anonymity because the team did not immediately reveal those details.

“They're going to do an image tomorrow,” Milwaukee coach Doc Rivers said after the Bucks' 129-103 loss. “Obviously, it's lower leg. And, just being honest, it's not very promising.”

The non-contact injury occurred midway through the first quarter. The Bucks announced later in the first half that the seven-time all-NBA guard had hurt his lower left leg and wouldn’t return to the game.

This latest injury comes after Lillard had made a remarkable return from deep vein thrombosis in his right calf to play in the postseason. The calf issue had caused Lillard to miss the Bucks' final 14 regular-season games as well as the opening game of this series.

The seven-time all-NBA player was behind the 3-point line around the top of the key midway through the first quarter when the ball bounced toward him. Lillard used his left hand to tip the ball toward teammate Gary Trent Jr., then went down and grabbed the lower part of his left leg, around his ankle. He continued to sit on the floor as play resumed on the other end of the court.

After a foul stopped play, Milwaukee’s Kyle Kuzma helped Lillard up. Lillard then started limping and had to be helped off the court and into the locker room.

Lillard's previous injury involved his other leg. That previous injury required him to go on blood-thinning medication to treat his deep vein thrombosis, an abnormal clot within a vessel where the congealing of blood blocks the flow through on the way back to the heart.

He was taken off the blood-thinning medication and cleared to resume full basketball activities at the end of the regular season, and he returned to action for Game 2 of this series on Tuesday.

The Bucks have endured all sorts of postseason injuries since winning a title in 2021.

Khris Middleton missed an entire seven-game Eastern Conference semifinal loss to Boston in 2022 with a sprained medial collateral ligament. Giannis Antetokounmpo bruised his lower back in Milwaukee’s first playoff game in 2023 and didn’t return until Game 4 of a first-round series it lost 4-1 to the Miami Heat. In the Bucks’ 4-2 first-round loss to Indiana last year, Antetokounmpo didn’t play at all because of a calf strain and Lillard missed two games with an Achilles injury.

The Bucks trailed this best-of-seven series 2-1 heading into Game 4.

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AP Pro Basketball Writer Tim Reynolds contributed to this report.

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