Anthony Davis out vs. Raptors with non-COVID illness

Anthony Davis’ hot streak on the court is on hold. The big man exited Tuesday’s 116-102 loss against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first quarter with flu-like symptoms, and the team quickly announced he would not return. The absence ended an incredible streak from Davis, one that saw him record back-to-back 40-point, 10-rebound games and nine straight games with at least 25 points and 10 rebounds, and he won’t have a chance to restart it against the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday, as the team announced early in the morning that Davis would also miss that contest.

LeBron James is joining him on the sidelines, and Patrick Beverley sounds likely to sit as well:

After the loss to the Cavs, the Lakers gave updates on AD’s illness, and didn’t make it sound particularly likely he’d be playing the very next night:

Davis played the opening 8:07 of the contest against the Cavs before checking out, heading straight to the locker room and not returning. According to the broadcast, Davis had started to feel unwell early in the day on Tuesday, tried to power through it but could only play part of the first quarter before checking out.

Davis will have missed three full games now this season with his absence against Toronto, although that tally is functionally four given how early he exited in Cleveland.

The Lakers are in the middle of a six-game road trip, with Toronto marking game four of that stretch. The Lakers will next play on Friday against Philadelphia and Sunday against the Pistons. And, given what will be asked of him in a potential matchup against the Sixers and Joel Embiid, having Davis sit out Wednesday’s game and try to get healthy could be the right call.

The team has also dealt with flu-like symptoms before this season which impacted a number of players, LeBron included, and forced players to miss games. Keeping Davis isolated from the team could avoid another situation like that and keep the team healthy enough to finish this stretch strong. We’ll see if he’s ultimately able to return on Friday.

This breaking news story will continue to update with more information as it develops.

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