If Lakers fans didn’t know by now how important Anthony Davis is to their team’s postseason hopes, they got a significant reminder on Saturday night.
Los Angeles’ All-Star center suffered an eye injury late in the first quarter against Golden State Warriors and did not play the rest of the game.
With Davis in the locker room getting worked on by trainers, Warriors dominated the paint in posting a 128-121 victory over Lakers in a pivotal Western Conference match-up.
“They missed Anthony big time. He’s such a great defender when he’s in the paint. His absence opened the paint for us and we went to the rim often in the second half,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said.
Lakers described Davis’ injury as an eye contusion.
The nine-time All-Star took a stray elbow to the left eye by Golden State’s Trayce Jackson-Davis while driving to the basket for a layup with 2:47 remaining in the first quarter. Davis kept playing for the next few minutes, but his eye was swollen shut as he went to the locker room. He had eight points and four rebounds.
“When you lose AD, it just hurts the balance of our team,” said LeBron James, who had 40 points.
Davis, who is averaging 24.5 points and 12.3 rebounds, has missed only four games this season due to hip injuries. Lakers’ next game is on Monday night against Atlanta Hawks.
Coach Darvin Ham said Davis had some blurred vision in the eye, but had no further update.
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