Lillard returns to Portland for tests on knee
Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard left the NBA’s bubble at Walt Disney World for further tests on his injured right knee.
Lillard left the bubble in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, and returned to Portland on Thursday, the Trail Blazers said. He was diagnosed Tuesday with a knee sprain, which occurred in Game 4 of the team’s first-round Western Conference series against the top-seeded Lakers.
Even if the Blazers were to extend their series when play resumes, Lillard would have to miss several days anyway simply for leaving the bubble. He would have to quarantine for at least four days upon his return.
Lillard was the unanimous winner of the MVP award during the seeding games portion of the restarted season, the eight-game stretch that got the Blazers into the play-in round against the Grizzlies. He’s averaged 30.5 points inside the Disney bubble since the season restarted July 30.
Lillard willed the Blazers into the postseason with one dazzling performance after another. The Blazers won their final three seeding games by a total of seven points; Lillard had 51, 61 and 42 points, respectively, in those games.
Lillard has been very durable during his eight NBA seasons, all of them coming with the Blazers. They’ve played 703 regular-season and playoff games since he was drafted; he’s appeared in 670 of them, or 95.3%, and started his career by playing in 286 consecutive Blazers contests, including playoff matchups.
College football: Top-ranked Clemson will have a reduced seating capacity of 19,000 fans this season and require face coverings unless eating or drinking, the school announced. Game-day traditions, including the pregame Tiger Walk and postgame Gathering at the Paw, will not take place this season. Fans are being asked not to tailgate. The seating capacity inside Memorial Stadium normally is 81,500. Fans will be seated in pods of two and four affiliated guests.
NFL: The missing father of Bengals CB Mackensie Alexander turned up early Thursday at a ranger station at a
Florida state park, sheriff’s officials said. Jean Alexandre, 65, was reported to be in good health and will be reunited with this family, the Okeechobee County Sheriff’s Office said in a Twitter post. He walked up to the ranger station at the Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park, which is about 25 miles north of Okeechobee in central Florida. The sheriff’s office offered no additional details. Alexandre, a Haitian immigrant who uses a French spelling of the family’s surname, went missing after going to pick palmetto berries Monday, officials said. A missing persons report was released Wednesday. His son, Mackensie Alexander, was jailed Wednesday on a misdemeanor battery charge after deputies say he beat up a man shortly after returning to Florida to help search for his missing father. ... The Jets acquired RB Kalen Ballage from the Dolphins in a rare intradivision trade Thursday. The Dolphins, who were reportedly on the verge of releasing Ballage, will received a conditional 2021 seventhround pick. The Jets’ starter at running back is two-time All-Pro Le’Veon Bell.