The Bucks said last Thursday that Lillard was off blood-thinning medication and cleared for full basketball activity. He was listed as questionable for Game 2 on Monday’s injury report.
Lillard last played in a game on March 18. The Bucks announced a week later that he was dealing with deep vein thrombosis, an abnormal clot within a vessel where the congealing of blood blocks the flow through on the way back to the heart.
While he was on blood-thinning medication, Lillard couldn’t do much from a basketball standpoint beyond shooting free throws, though he said specialists eventually permitted him to do some exercises such as lifting weights. Because of his lack of basketball activity over the last month, Lillard was going to need time to get himself playoff-ready even after doctors cleared him.
“I was able to be active and do some stuff and then I got cleared to be on the court, and I was able to do some hard workouts and do some conditioning and stuff like that,” Lillard said Friday. “So we’ll see. The moment that I feel good about it, I’m not going to be waiting and all of that. The moment that I feel I can go, I’m going to go.”
Lillard appeared in 58 games during the regular season and ranked 10th in the league in both scoring (24.9) and assists (7.1) while earning his ninth All-Star Game selection.
Although he didn’t play Saturday, Lillard was on the bench and even got a technical foul late in the game after exchanging words with Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton during a timeout.
Milwaukee lost 117-98 in Game 1.
— With files from The Associated Press.