Portland Trail Blazers star guard Damian Lillard will play tonight against the Los Angeles Lakers despite his injury.
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Lillard will play tonight against the purple and gold:
Sources on @TheAthleticNBA @WatchStadium: Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard is expected to play tonight against the Lakers in Los Angeles. He’s rehabbed his knee this week. Lillard has led Blazers to a 10-3 start.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 15, 2018
Lillard suffered the right knee injury after a hard fall in their win over the Boston Celtics last Sunday. Per Sean Meagher of Oregon Live, the three-time all-star shared that he felt pretty good during practice:
Article Continues Below“I got up yesterday I was a little bit nervous,” Lillard said after Tuesday's practice. “I was really sore. I got a little workout in today. I felt pretty good moving around.”
Lillard, along with backcourt partner C.J. McCollum, guided the Blazers to a strong 10-3 record. They're looking to extend their winning streak to five games as they visit the Lakers tonight, which will be the first game of a six-game road trip.
For the season, Lillard is averaging 26 points per game, five rebounds, and 5.8 assists. Through 13 games, he's shooting at a career-best 46.5 percent from the field. From downtown, he's shooting at 37.2 percent.
Speaking about the Lakers, Lillard observed that the team is still trying to get comfortable with each other and have improved:
“It seems like they're trying to get comfortable with each other, starting to roll. They're playing better basketball. But we're playing pretty well, too. We gotta go on their court and try to get another win.”