The Los Angeles Lakers came away with a thrilling 115-113 win against the Golden State Warriors on Christmas Day, culminating with a game-winner bucket from Austin Reaves. But after the game, one of the most pressing concerns was the status of Lakers big man Anthony Davis, who left the game with an injury scare.
But Lakers fans can breathe a sigh of relief at the immediacy as Davis’ injury scare apparently won’t keep him out for the team’s next game against the Sacramento Kings on Saturday, as per Dave McMenamin of ESPN.
Davis suffered an apparent ankle injury during the first quarter of the Lakers’ win against the Warriors and went back to the locker room. He was ultimately ruled out for the remainder of the game. Up to that point, he had played seven minutes and had two rebounds and one steal.
Davis has been on the Lakers’ injury report for the past several games after hurting his shoulder back on Dec. 15 against the Memphis Grizzlies. But to this point, the shoulder issue hasn’t kept him out of any games. While he’s been listed initially as questionable, he eventually is upgraded to available right before game time.
While the Lakers were able to defeat the Warriors without him, they can’t afford any more absences in the frontcourt. The Lakers have been without Christian Wood and Jarred Vanderbilt since the start of the season and have also lost Jaxson Hayes for the time being due to an ankle injury.
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Lakers head coach JJ Redick was relying on two-way contract player Christian Koloko for backup center minutes, but in recent games, he’s opted to go with a small-ball lineup when Davis is on the bench.
In 2024, Davis has been playing some of the best Basketball of his career. Coming into the Christmas Day game, he had been averaging 26.6 points, 11.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.3 steals, and 2.2 blocked shots with splits of 52.3 percent shooting from the field, 30.2 percent shooting from the three-point line and 77.2 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
David Yapkowitz is a basketball journalist for ClutchPoints, writing news on the NBA, WNBA, and NCAA Basketball for both men and women. The Los Angeles native has bylines with Basketball Insiders, SB Nation, and The Next Hoops.
