Lillard ailing as Trail Blazers visit 76ers (Nov 22, 2017)
The Portland Trail Blazers play the second contest of a five-game road trip Wednesday night against the Philadelphia 76ers.
It is unclear whether Blazers point guard Damian Lillard will take the court, however.
Lillard, a two-time All-Star, sprained his right ankle with 2:56 left in the first half of Monday's 100-92 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies, when he stepped on the foot of the Grizzlies' Chandler Parsons.
"It felt bad," Lillard told NBCSN Northwest. "Honestly I was a little bit discouraged, a little bit worried. I went back (to the locker room) and it stiffened up a little bit."
He nonetheless returned to the game, and supplemented a 24-point effort by backcourt partner CJ McCollum with 21 points of his own -- albeit on 5-of-15 shooting.
"I kind of played mind games with myself," Lillard told NBCSN Northwest. "I said, 'This is going to be a big moment for you. You've got to challenge yourself.' Some of our staff were like, 'We'd rather have you in Philly.' Nothing is guaranteed. We needed this win. I wanted to be out here and impact the game, any way I could."
Shabazz Napier added 16 points for Portland on Monday, and Noah Vonleh contributed season highs of 11 points and 18 rebounds. In all the Blazers (10-7) forged a 60-35 advantage on the boards, en route to their second straight victory and their fourth in five games.
"It was good to grind one out," coach Terry Stotts said, according to the team's official web site.
The 76ers (9-7) beat Utah 107-86 on Monday night, their third victory in four games. Rookie Ben Simmons scored 27 points, his highest total in his 16-game-old NBA career, and grabbed 10 rebounds. It was the 11th double-double for Simmons, who also had four steals.
Simmons, taking advantage of the absence of Jazz defensive anchor Rudy Gobert with a knee injury, notched 22 points in the second half. J.J. Redick added all 20 of his in the final 24 minutes, and Joel Embiid finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
The Sixers shot 51.8 percent from the floor, outscored the Jazz 66-34 on points in the paint and owned a 55-34 rebounding advantage. They also limited Utah to 35.3-percent shooting.
"I give our defense the most credit for this win," coach Brett Brown said.
Simmons called the victory "huge," as it came two days after the Sixers dropped the opener of a season-long six-game homestand to the Golden State Warriors.
"This is one of those games we had to win," he said, "and we did that, so we came out here and took care of business."
The Sixers continue to be without rookie guard Markelle Fultz, the top overall pick in this year's draft. He has missed the last 12 games with a shoulder injury. Guard/forward Justin Anderson (shin splints) and guard/forward Nik Stauskas (ankle) are also out.
Portland is without forward Al-Farouq Aminu (sprained right ankle), guard Wade Baldwin IV (thumb surgery) and guard C.J. Wilcox (knee surgery).
