Unforeseen Obstacle Strikes Lakers Star Anthony Davis: Hip Spasms Challenge in Heat Defeat

TAMPA — The Los Angeles Lakers’ standout player Anthony Davis had to leave Monday night’s 108-107 loss to the Miami Heat early due to spasms in his left hip, the team reported.

Late in the second quarter, Davis seemed to initially aggravate his left side while he was shooting with Jaime Jaquez Jr. of Miami. Despite his injury, he played for a few possessions before being replaced with 2:17 left in the first half to let Los Angeles trail 54-52.

After the break, Davis warmed up and got the game going in the third quarter. However, with 10:01 left in the quarter, the Lakers had to call a timeout to substitute Davis.

After a few minutes, Davis returned from the locker room and attempted to check in again, but to little avail. In the eight minutes that Davis played in the third quarter, the Lakers were outscored by ten points.

Davis seemed to tweak the injury again with less than two minutes left in the third, yelling, “F—!” before being replaced.

In 25 minutes against the Heat, Davis—who came into the game averaging a career-high 38.8 minutes per game this season, second most in the league—finished with 9 points on 4-of-7 shooting, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists.