PORTLAND, Ore. — Damian Lillard left the Portland Trail Blazers’ 119-98 loss to the Miami Heat on Wednesday night with a strained right calf.
Lillard, a six-time All-Star, hobbled off with just over five minutes left in the third quarter and headed straight for the locker room. He didn’t come back.
Speaking after the game, Lillard said the calf felt a little tight before the matchup and the tightness didn’t go away in the first half, prompting him to put some compression on it at halftime. He said when he went up for a shot in the third quarter, he tightened up more, leading to his exit.
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“It wasn’t anything I was too worried about,” he told reporters. “I just know it wouldn’t make sense to try to get over it in the fifth game of the season.”
Lillard said he did not have an MRI or any additional tests.
“Honestly, if this was a playoff game, I would have played,” he said. “It would have been tight and uncomfortable, but I would have played. If that gives you any indication of how worried I am now or would have been.”
Lillard said it is unlikely he will play Friday night when the Blazers host the Houston Rockets. After that, Portland has a break before hosting the Memphis Grizzlies next Wednesday.
“Now I just have to be smart and make sure I do a couple of treatment sessions every day and try to stretch it out,” she said. “So I probably won’t play this game on Friday. That will give me six days of maybe two sessions some days, three sessions other days, and I’ll try to be ready for this one. We’ll see.”
Lillard had 22 points, including four 3-pointers, before getting hurt. He scored more than 30 points in three of the Blazers’ first four games this season.
The injury, however minor, scared the Blazers because Lillard missed 47 games last season with a nagging abdominal injury that required surgery. In the first four games of this season, he finally looked fit and agile.
“It’s early. We’re off to a good start. Things feel good. I haven’t felt this good since sophomore or third year,” he said. “Everything I’ve done this summer is adding up. I feel fast, I feel strong. I don’t get tired. And I don’t want to lose that. So I have to be patient and I can’t. get ahead of myself.”
Portland was the last undefeated team in the Western Conference.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.