Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis came up with a huge block on Sunday night, one of his best in recent memory.
However, the play came at a price.
Davis, after stuffing Toronto Raptors big man Jakob Poeltl at the rim, immediately went to the court in pain after Poeltl accidentally drilled him in the eye. Davis crawled off the floor at Crypto.com Arena as play continued and then lay there for several moments before being helped off the floor and taken to the locker room.
Davis was ruled out of the game midway through the fourth quarter due to an eye injury. He finished the night with 22 points and four rebounds.
No further details about Davis’ eye injury are known. He also suffered a corneal abrasion in the same eye in March last season. Two days later he played again, but about a month later he aggravated the injury again. He said his eyelid was briefly swollen from the first blow.
Davis entered Sunday averaging 32.4 points and 11.3 rebounds per game this season, his sixth with the Lakers. The former Kentucky star has been dealing with a foot injury lately, but was cleared to play Sunday night.
Despite the loss of Davis, the Lakers took the lead in the second half and earned a 123–103 victory over Toronto. LeBron James had a triple-double with 19 points, 16 assists and 10 rebounds in the win. It was his third triple-double this season. Austin Reaves added 27 points and D’Angelo Russell finished with 15 points off the bench.
RJ Barrett led the Raptors, who are now just 2-9 on the year and have yet to win a road game, with 18 points and seven rebounds. Chris Boucher also added 18 points off the bench.
The Lakers have now won two in a row after Friday’s 10-point win over the Philadelphia 76ers. They have a 6-4 record and will host the Memphis Grizzles on Wednesday night.
