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Blazers' Damian Lillard out at least 1-2 weeks with right calf strain

Damian Lillard has a minor right calf strain and will be re-evaluated in 1 to 2 weeks, the Portland Trail Blazers said Thursday.

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Damian Lillard will be re-evaluated in November after injuring his calf.

Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard will be sidelined for at least one-to-two weeks because of a right calf strain, the team announced on Thursday.

Lillard suffered the injury in the third quarter of Wednesday’s loss to the Miami Heat and did not return. He underwent an MRI on Thursday, which confirmed a grade one strain.

The six-time All-Star has scored 30-plus points in three of the Blazers’ first four games this season. He led all scorers with 22 points against the Heat before he left the game.

He said he felt tightness in the calf before the game and put a compression sleeve on it at halftime. But he added that had it been the playoffs, he would have played through it.

The injury, however slight, was scary for 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’ve gotten off to a good start. Things feel good. I haven’t felt this good since my second or third year,” he said. “Everything that I did this summer is just adding up. I feel fast, I feel strong. I don’t get tired. And I don’t want to lose that. So I’ve got to be patient and I can’t get ahead of myself.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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