Injury fear for Anthony Davis after Lakers star suffers scary fall
ANTHONY DAVIS was forced to leave the court prematurely during the Los Angeles Lakers' clash against the Clippers
NBA superstar Anthony Davis was forced to leave the court after suffering a horrific fall during the Los Angeles Lakers’ defeat to the Clippers on Thursday night. The Lakers fell to a frustrating second successive loss as they sit 0-2 on the season while their city rivals moved to 1-0.
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The Lakers slipped to a 103-97 defeat, despite 25 points from Davis and 20 points - along with 10 rebounds - from LeBron James. Lonnie Walker also scored 26 for the Lakers, while Paul George and John Wall led the way for the Clippers with 15 points each.
While the start to the season has been far from ideal for the Lakers, their fans undoubtedly collectively held their breath when Davis went down in the third quarter. The 29-year-old has never played a full slate of 82 games in the regular season across his career, which has spanned 10 years - and his fragility was put to the test against the Clippers.
Davis rotated over to help on Leonard after the Clippers star spun past Patrick Beverley. Leonard caught Davis with an up fake, and the Lakers star came crashing down over his opponent when the shot actually did go up.
Davis remained in the game for the next two-and-a-half minutes after the fall. At one point, he was the last Laker to pass mid-court and looked like he might have been baiting Ivica Zubac into forgetting about him on defence as he splashed a three immediately.
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The eight-time NBA All-Star then waved off a request for a sub from the coaching staff immediately after. However, it became clear Davis was struggling with the knock so the Lakers called a timeout and coach Devin Ham took the star forward from the floor.
Davis seemed to be heading back to the locker room but he clarified after the game that he was simply walking to the tunnel so he could stay on his feet. He said: “I just didn't want to sit down and let it stiffen up.
“I just went in the tunnel, tried to stay loose until I got called to go back in the game.”
The score was 60-60 when Davis fell and tied at 65 when he went out of the game. The Clippers scored nine points straight in 1:40 with Davis out of action, which almost certainly led to his return sooner than expected.
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Davis was already limited in pre-season, missing three games due to back spasms. The Lakers star is likely going to get some tests done on his back on Friday, which should determine if he’s going to miss time.
He was confident in his ability to bounce back and be ready Sunday’s match against the Portland Trail Blazers as the Lakers chase their first win of the season.
“I’ll be alright,” Davis added. “We got two days between games, so whatever I gotta do to get it right for Sunday, it's an early game too so we’ll see how it is, but pretty sure I’ll be alright.”
