Crunch-time went much different for Damian Lillard against the Cleveland Cavaliers than the basketball world has come to expect since he entered the league nearly a decade ago. The Portland Trail Blazers superstar had several golden opportunities to complete his team's arduous comeback on Wednesday, including a game-tying look from three as the fourth-quarter buzzer sounded.
Lillard couldn't connect over the outstretched arms of Jarrett Allen, though, just like he botched a wide-open layup that would've tied the game with 2:30 left in regulation. He clanked an uncontested pull-up three on the Blazers' next possession, then had his layup easily blocked by Evan Mobley on a left-wing isolation. After swiping the ball from Collin Sexton with 60 seconds remaining on the clock, Lillard threw it out of bounds while attempting to execute a 2-on-1 fast break with Anfernee Simons.
It's not like Lillard's struggles in the clutch against Cleveland were that big a departure from his overall play since tipoff, either. He needed 27 shots to score 26 points, going just 3-of-12 from deep and missing a pair of free throws, a clear extension of Lillard's ongoing shooting slump to start 2021-22.
Lillard made no excuses for his play after the game. When asked why he was noticeably grimacing at times versus the Cavaliers, though, Lillard copped to re-aggravating the same injury that's been nagging at him for awhile.
“I made a play in the first half going to the rim, and I braced myself against the contact and my abdominal just tightened up a little bit,” he said. “Came out after that, but it just tightened up a little bit on me.”
Lillard had previously maintained he was healthy, brushing off the assumption that physical labors were contributing to his shooting woes. He didn't admit that core pain played a part in his late-game woes in Cleveland, instead pushing back on the notion that it affected him much at all after years of playing through that discomfort.
“Any time it gets irritated, it's just like a little irritation there, you know what I mean?” Lillard said. I've played with it for a few years now, so I'm kinda immune to playin' with it. I've played well, I've done a lot of things with it being irritated.”
That most recent irritation came at some point during or in preparation for the Tokyo Olympics, where Lillard was a shell of his usually dominant self. Reports of him battling through an abdomen injury surfaced immediately after Team USA beat France in the gold medal game.
Lillard also dealt with the injury last season. Though he's never said so publicly, flare-ups of core pain could be related to Lillard laboring through separated ribs during Portland's run to the 2019 Western Conference Finals.
Either way, expect Lillard's core injury to be an underlying story for the Blazers throughout 2021-22. Just don't expect him to use it as an excuse even if his struggles continue.
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