The LA Lakers were left concerned with the health of star center Anthony Davis during their Western Conference semi-final against the Golden State Warriors.
Despite a 25-point game from LeBron James, the Lakers suffered a 121-106 defeat to the reigning NBA Champions on Wednesday night in Game Five. It means that the series is 3-2 in the Lakers’ favour going into Game Six on Friday.
Davis had scored 23 points with nine rebounds and three assists prior to suffering a knock to the head in the fourth quarter. The 30-year-old was inadvertently struck on the side of the head by Warriors star Kevon Looney, and was in need of evaluation from the Lakers medical team.
The Lakers centre was initially treated by Lakers athletic trainer Jon Ishop on the bench before retreating to the back of the Chase Center for further medical assessment. It was reported by ESPN that Davis was placed into a wheelchair and taken to the medical room after feeling “woozy”.
Further to this, the report adds that there was no mention of Davis suffering a concussion after being assessed by the Lakers medical team. The center was later seen walking away from the arena and onto the Lakers team bus without any assistance.
TNT reporter Chris Haynes also reported that Davis had avoided suffering a concussion. It was stated that Davis took a hit to the temple, in what was described by Haynes as a "really scary" incident.
Lakers head coach Darvin Ham was asked about the current situation regarding Davis’ health. Ham stated that Davis was “doing really good”, but did not provide any more on the condition of his star player.
"Obviously everyone saw he took a shot to the head, but we just checked on him," Ham is quoted telling ESPN. "He seems to be doing really good already. That's just where he's at. That's the status of it right now."
While Davis was receiving treatment, ESPN state that his agent, Rich Paul, his parents and Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka went into the training room to check on how he was doing.
The Lakers are yet to say whether or not Davis will be able to play in Game Six of the series against the Warriors on Friday. Should the Lakers win that game, then they would progress to the Western Conference finals and face either the Denver Nuggets or the Phoenix Suns.
The Nuggets currently lead that series 3-2 going into Thursday’s Game Six. In the Eastern Conference, the Philadelphia 76ers lead the Boston Celtics 3-2 in their series, while the Miami Heat also lead 3-2 against the New York Knicks.
