What Happened To Anthony Davis? Lakers Star Suffers In Agonising Pain In Game 5 Vs Nuggets

Did the Lakers blow their last chance? Superstar Anthony Davis fell on the floor, holding his shoulder, after colliding with Michael Porter Jr. a minute into the third quarter. The star center seemed to be in immense pain, as he stayed unmoved after the fall. LeBron James immediately forced a foul and called for a timeout.

The latest update revealed that the star stayed on the court, playing his game without moving his left shoulder. NBA insider Brett Siegel stated that AD continued playing the game, holding his left side of the neck and shoulder.

Amid the nightmare for the Lakers Nation, The Athletic’s senior reporter dropped interesting insight into AD’s shoulder injury scare. He added, “AD is still clearly in pain. Hasn’t been moving his left arm much. Reminds me of the Milwaukee game when he played through his shoulder stinger and was mainly a decoy offensively.”

After losing the first three games, the Lakers are currently playing every game in survival mode. In Game 4, the LA side broke their shackles, ended their embarrassing 11-game losing streak against the Denver Nuggets and forced Game 5. LeBron James considered Game 5’s win important, as he said, “Monday’s game is the most important game of the season for us, we know that.” 

They definitely need a special strategy to force Game 6. Will AD’s injury decoy play a role in the fourth quarter, Jovan Buha updated that Davis was back on the floor after a brief stay back in the locker room. Importantly, during a play in the third quarter, James was also seen holding onto his ankle in pain. However, he stayed on the floor and clocked back in after two-odd minutes in the 4th quarter. In these instances, it’s clear that both AD and Bron have decided to stick together and force Game 6.

Will Anthony Davis’ offensive decoy work for Game 5?

Anthony Davis pulled off a similar formula against the Milwaukee Bucks in the regular season. During the third quarter, Anthony Davis appeared to have injured his shoulder after an impact with Giannis Antetokounmpo. Notably, the refs didn’t call fouls on that play, and he stepped off the court. However, he returned to the court in the fourth quarter and played without moving his left arm for the entire game.

He ended up scoring 22 points, 13 rebounds, and 3 blocks and helped the team win a crucial 123-122. While he didn’t make many shots in the last quarter, he did act as a decoy confusing the Bucks’ defense. Speaking after the game, AD said, “Sore. Couldn’t really move it after that… Continue to go out there and do what I can to help the team win, just knowing my presence on both ends of the floor is impactful. So I just wasn’t gonna let the shoulder.” 

Unfortunately, the game didn’t go the Lakers’ way tonight, as Jamal Murray took everyone back to the Game 2 game-winner.