Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard had surgery Friday to repair the left Achilles tendon he tore Sunday in a playoff loss to the Indiana Pacers.
Lillard was helped off the court midway through the first quarter of the Bucks’ 129-103 loss in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series with the Pacers. The Bucks announced Monday that the seven-time All-NBA guard had torn his Achilles tendon.
The Bucks played without Lillard in Game 5 on Tuesday and lost 119-118 in overtime at Indiana, enabling the Pacers to clinch the best-of-seven series.
Lillard played three games in that series, as he made a remarkably fast return from deep vein thrombosis — an abnormal clot within a vessel where the congealing of blood blocks the flow through it on the way back to the heart — in his right calf.
After missing the Bucks’ last 14 regular-season games, Lillard was taken off blood-thinning medication and cleared to resume full basketball activity. Lillard missed Game 1 of the Pacers series to work his way back and then returned for Game 2.
Lillard, 34, ranked 10th in the NBA in scoring (24.9) and assists (7.1) this season while earning his ninth All-Star Game selection.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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