Star forward Anthony Davis was forced to leave the Los Angeles Lakers’ Game 4 loss to the Phoenix Suns with a groin strain. Davis was added to the injury report Wednesday and was held out of the game. He previously suffered a groin strain in November, this time while playing for the New Orleans Pelicans. According to a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the injury is expected to keep Davis out for at least a week.
The injury list grows for the Los Angeles Lakers with their loss to the Phoenix Suns in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series.
1 Connected The best-of-seven series stands at 2-2. The fifth game will be played on Tuesday. LeBron James, who recorded 25 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists and 6 turnovers, was asked if he would be willing to take on a larger role if Davis was limited in what he could do. For me, it’s about putting our team in a position where it can succeed, James said. It starts with my approach, my responsibility, and is passed on to everyone else. So those shoulders were made for a reason. If I have to add something for that, so be it. Win, lose or draw, I’m up for the challenge. In the regular season, when James played and Davis didn’t, it was 11-7 for Los Angeles, but the Lakers were just 1-6 in those games against teams that made the playoffs. With 9:19 remaining in the game, Phoenix extended the lead to 18 points before the Lakers made a tentative push and got within seven when Dennis Schroder’s shot attempt bounced off the rim with 1:31 to play. The Suns pressed back and quickly passed the ball to Jay Crowder, who hit a three-pointer to give Phoenix a 10-point lead and end the game. Davis came into the game with a sprained left knee, which he suffered in Game 3 when he came down awkwardly after a block against Suns star Devin Booker. He averaged 34 points, 10.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2 blocks in the second and third games of the series to give the seventh-seeded Lakers a 2-1 lead against the second-seeded Suns. Davis finished Game 4 with six points on 2-of-9 shooting and four rebounds in 19 minutes. Kyle Kuzma started the third quarter in place of Davis and finished 4 for 11 with 11 points. The Lakers also played without Kentavius Caldwell-Pope, who was ruled out for the game with a sore left knee. Los Angeles seemed to have found its stride, winning eight of nine games, with a 14-point victory in Game 3, but Sunday’s series of events was a reminder of the Lakers’ shaky nature in the regular season. Obviously, we’re not going to be there this year, but we’ve been there, Kuzma said. So we’ll have to find out. You just have to figure it out. Kuzma said the Lakers remain optimistic, but indicated Davis’ absence has disrupted the game plan considerably: Phoenix outscored Los Angeles 27-15 in the third quarter when a big man didn’t come out of the locker room at halftime. We’re ready for some basketball if AD is there, Kuzma said. And apparently, he wasn’t there. The Suns have their own injury problems: Chris Paul played most of the series with a bruised right shoulder after colliding with teammate Cameron Johnson in Game 1. Paul had his best game since his injury with 18 points, 9 assists, 3 rebounds and 3 steals. James and Paul became the first opponents in NBA history age 35 and older – in the regular season or playoffs – to lead their teams in points and assists, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. We kept fighting, kept getting stops and still managed to play, James said. But they played well. I bow to them. They came in and played very well. And it will be a very important game 5 on Tuesday.
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