PHILADELPHIA — The Lakers will be without star Anthony Davis for the remainder of their Grammys trip after he suffered an abdominal muscle strain, the team announced Wednesday morning.
Davis suffered the injury in the first quarter of the Lakers’ loss at Philadelphia on Tuesday, leaving the game after just 10 minutes and heading to the locker room while grabbing his midsection. It was unclear when the injury occurred.
After originally being considered “questionable” to return, he was ruled out at halftime. The Lakers said Davis underwent an MRI exam and will return to Los Angeles, where he’ll be reevaluated in a week.
After Tuesday’s game, LeBron James said he thought Davis would be fine, though he noticed the star walking a little gingerly.
“I mean, when our best player goes out, it’s always challenging,” James said. “Especially in the game. If he’s out from the beginning, then we have a game plan set. We know what to expect, we know what our lineup is gonna be. But when AD or any one of our guys go down throughout the course of a game, it’s just tough.”
Davis will miss the Lakers’ games at Washington, New York and the Clippers at a minimum, meaning he won’t play again until the trade deadline has passed on Feb. 6.
Davis is averaging 25.7 points, 11.9 rebounds, 2.1 blocks and 1.3 steals. Jaxson Hayes likely will replace him in the starting lineup.
This story originally appeared on LA Times
