Damian Lillard injury: Bucks star doubtful for Game 4 vs. Pacers with Achilles tendon strain

The Milwaukee Bucks' injury woes have gone from bad to worse during their first-round series with the Indiana Pacers. All-Star point guard Damian Lillard has been diagnosed with a Grade 1 Achilles tendon strain and is doubtful for Game 4 on Sunday, according to Chris Haynes. 

Late in the fourth quarter of their heartbreaking overtime loss in Game 3, the Bucks were trying to foul to extend the game when Lillard re-aggravated his Achilles. Though it went largely unnoticed in real time, you can see Lillard limping as he goes to pick up Patrick Beverley on the replay. While Lillard remained in the game the rest of the way, he did not take a shot in the extra frame. 

"Honestly, Dame was really struggling," Bucks coach Doc Rivers said. "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."

Lillard said during his post-game press conference that his "plan" is to play in Game 4, but it doesn't seem like that's going to happen. If he does play, he certainly won't have his usual agility or explosiveness. 

"I think tonight, it was just so fresh, just re-aggravated after having a whole week where you could kind of get it together," Lillard said. "But I just wanted to be on the floor in case some opportunity came up, or however I could help. But obviously, tonight, we're gonna get back and just have to get ahead of it because that's not something you want to play with. 

"It's one of those spots on your body where you literally can't do nothing about it. If you can't move, you can't move. So we got a couple days, tonight, to start to try to get ahead of it and just get it feeling better, try to get ready for Sunday."

The Achilles injury wasn't the only scare during the game for Lillard. Late in the first quarter, he drove to the basket for a tough layup and Pascal Siakam landed on his ankle. Lillard twisted his knee in the process and stayed down on the ground in clear pain before hobbling to the bench and down the tunnel. His stay in the locker room turned out to be brief, however, and he hit some big shots to get the Bucks back in the game. While Lillard said his knee was "a little uncomfortable" the rest of the way, he didn't feel like he was putting himself in "danger." 

Lillard sat out of practice for a few days in the lead up to Game 1 of this series in order to address some nagging injuries, including a sore Achilles. Though he admitted he was initially "concerned," the time off helped him get right and he felt like himself to start the series. 

That was evident as he poured in a record-setting 35 points in the first half of Game 1. In the other five halves in this series, though, he has a combined 62 points on 16-of-46 (34.7%) from the field. As a result, the Bucks have dropped Games 2 and 3 and now find themselves down 2-1 in the series. 

A hampered Lillard is the last thing the Bucks need in the circumstances. Khris Middleton sprained his ankle in Game 2 and Giannis Antetokounmpo has not played since April 9 due to a calf strain. While Middleton was able to summon the strength for a throwback performance on Friday, it would be asking a lot for him to do that again in Game 4 on a bum ankle. Antetokounmpo, meanwhile, remains out indefinitely.