Bucks' Damian Lillard Explains Game 6 Injury Decision: 'F--k It, I'm Going to Play'

Damian Lillard missed Games 4 and 5 against the Indiana Pacers in the first round of the NBA playoffs while dealing with an Achilles injury, but the Milwaukee Bucks star returned for Game 6, a 120-98 loss.

After the game, Lillard spoke to reporters and broke down his decision to play in the win-or-go-home game. He said he went through treatment and transitioned from a boot to crunches to keep weight off of it over the last few days. After going through warmups with the injury feeling "a little tender," he decided to play.

What added to the decision was seeing the environment at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

"I did my pregame shooting and then I think just being in the building, seeing all the t-shirts on the chairs, I started moving around a little bit and I was just like, 'F--k it. I'm going to play,'" Lillard said. "Let's just do it. This is it. There's no guarantees that we're going to make it back home and I want to be out there, so that was it."

Lillard put up a valiant performance despite playing through the injury, putting up 28 points. Ultimately, his showing wasn't enough to force a Game 7 and the Bucks' season came to an end.

Milwaukee was severely undermanned in the series with Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo missing time with injuries. While Lillard missed two games, Antetokounmpo was unable to suit up at all while dealing with a calf strain.

The Bucks were arguably a Finals contender heading into the playoffs, but without the two stars, they couldn't get passed the Pacers and now have faced back-to-back first-round exits.