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Anthony Davis crumpled to the floor and grasped at his knee late in Tuesday’s victory against the San Antonio Spurs, giving every member of the Los Angeles Lakers faithful a major scare.
Davis popped up after the injury and was able to walk it off without missing a second of game time, even going for a lob on the next possession at the other end. However, Davis admitted after the game that the knee is still sore and he’s taking a wait-and-see approach.
“He was doing his job flying in, and I was still kind of planted on the ground,” Davis told reporters after the game. “He ran into my knee. Like a little stinger, a little stinger. And then started moving, it just kind of went away. I kept playing. Still felt it a little bit, but finished the game. And we’ll see how it is when I wake up tomorrow.”
Davis finished the game with 35 points, 17 rebounds and 4 blocks in 43 minutes, sparking the comeback effort from the Lakers in the fourth quarter.
“I mean, you’re still going off of adrenaline and stuff right now,” Davis said at the podium. “So you rest, then wake up, and all the adrenaline and stuff is gone, and your body starts reacting to the pain.”
Davis Credits Offseason Regiment
Davis missed 36 of the Lakers’ 72 regular-season games last season with various lower-body injuries, with his tough year ending a little early with a groin injury in the playoffs. Davis was called out after the injury-riddled season, with the common criticism being that he wasn’t preparing hard enough heading in the year.
Davis believes his extra time in the weight room this offseason saved him from further injury against the Spurs.
“I took a conscious effort in the weight room this summer,” he told reporters. “The injury could have been a lot worse if I didn’t.”
It’s a scary scene whenever Davis hits the court — which is often — but he’s earned the respect of his teammates, including Malik Monk, who had a solid game of his own with 17 points and some clutch buckets.
“He’s a dog, man, he’s never going to just back down from that,” Monk said. “I was glad he wasn’t hurt seriously, so big ups to AD.”
LeBron James Questionable Against Thunder
The Lakers are also waiting to see if LeBron James will be able to go for the back end of the back-to-back. James missed Tuesday’s game with soreness in his ankle after being rolled into against the Grizzlies.
“Questionable. Going to see how he feels,” Vogel said of James’ status. “He’s just day to day, and he’ll get evaluated again tomorrow and see what the soreness is like and make a decision then.”
James’ injury did not look good at the time, with Grizzlies guard Desmond Bane rolling into his leg on a rebound. It was a very similar situation to the collision with Hawks forward Solomon Hill last season, which knocked him out for some time.
“The first thing I was thinking to myself was not again,” James said. “Because obviously it was almost similar, but not the same kind of play. Guy falls into my leg and there’s nothing you can do about it and I couldn’t get my leg out of there in time.”
The Thunder are a young squad that has yet to win a game this season. With the Lakers sporting such a veteran roster, we’ll see how the lineup shakes out.
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