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Anthony Davis did not return to the floor for the Lakers to start the second half in Denver against the Nuggets after leaving in the first half with a strain of the same Achilles he has been dealing with tendinosis in for the last week or so. According to the Lakers, he will miss the rest of the game, and we will obviously know more about his timeline after that MRI.
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported that Davis did have some swelling.
Lakers All-Star Anthony Davis re-aggravated his right Achilles tendonosis and there's some swelling, source tells ESPN. He will get an MRI on Monday.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 15, 2021
Davis shot free throws after a leg-to-leg collision against Nikola Jokic in the second quarter, and grimaced the entire time he was at the line. After making both, he motioned for the Lakers to foul, and gingerly limped off the floor under his own power and immediately returned to the locker room with a trainer. Davis missed two games last week with Achilles tendinosis.
Anthony Davis limps to the locker room after hitting a pair of free throws. We're hoping for the best for AD. #LakeShow pic.twitter.com/XMRDHEi7Jj
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) February 15, 2021
Davis complained of soreness in the Achilles area — but not the Achilles itself — even after his return to the lineup for the previous game on Friday, a win against the Memphis Grizzlies in which he scored 35 points.
“It could go away obviously with rest and stuff like that,” Davis said then of the pain he was feeling. “But I’m not trying to rest up. I’m just trying to keep it as loose as possible... It’s not the actual Achilles tendon where you guys are thinking about, where it can be scary. It’s — I forgot the name of it — something that’s over it that’s pretty sore, so it’s not the actual tendon, which is why it’s comfortable me to play and get it loose, and why the doctors and training staff are comfortable enough to let me go out there and perform as well.”
Prior to the game against the Nuggets, head coach Frank Vogel said he wouldn’t be paying extra attention to Davis for signs that he was in pain, and would let Davis tell him if he was sore and needed to come out.
“Obviously if he’s having discomfort on the floor and we need to get him out, we’ll get him out,” Vogel said.
The Lakers took him out now. It appears he may not be back for a while.
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