The Los Angeles Lakers saw their season come to a heartbreaking end in Game 5 against the Denver Nuggets after Jamal Murray made another game-winner.
The game followed a similar script as the first four as the Lakers jumped out to an early lead and were in control up double digits in the third quarter.
L.A. got some bad luck from there with Anthony Davis being bumped in the shoulder by Michael Porter Jr. and immediately falling to the grown in obvious pain. Davis was dominating inside for the first two-plus quarters at that point as similar to the rest of the series, the Nuggets didn’t seem to have an answer for the nine-time All-Star.
While he was able to stay in the game at first, Davis was not able to move his left arm much, clearly playing compromised. He eventually went back to the locker room to get the shoulder worked on and although he returned, it was more of the same due to his limited mobility.
After the loss, Davis detailed what happened and just how limited he was on the floor.
“I guess it was like a little stinger. I just lost function, lost feeling from like my neck all the way to my hand,” Davis said. Then I got back in the game and I get hit again by KCP, just made it a little worse. But obviously knowing the importance of the game, I just tried to get some feeling and stuff back in my hand in the back with my trainer and then just tried to come back out there and just help the team get the win.”
Davis had one of the healthiest seasons of his career, playing 83 of the Lakers’ 88 total games. He was also having a monster series coming into Game 5 averaging around 30 points and 15 rebounds, being arguably the best player on the floor for both teams.
With that being the case, Davis was understandably frustrated to hurt his shoulder like that with the season on the line.
“It’s tough. It’s frustrating,” he admitted. “We put ourselves in a position to win every game in this series. Didn’t pull out some wins that we felt like we should’ve, but tonight especially in the situation where I get hit in the shoulder. It’s just tough. Obviously I was in a rhythm offensively, but it’s an important game. You want to be out there and I was just very limited with the shoulder, but still tried to go out there and just leave it on the floor for my team.
“But it’s definitely frustrating, just kind of been our thing all year. C-Wood, Vando, Gabe, we’re not making any excuses or anything like that, Denver is a hell of a team. The defending champs. It’s just tough going out like that.”
Davis wanting to be on the floor for his team, even while compromised, is not surprising as that is the type of player and person he has shown to be throughout his career. It’s similar to when the Lakers were closed out in the first round in 2021 against the Phoenix Suns when Davis tried to play despite suffering a serious groin injury earlier in the series.
He wants to compete and win at all costs, which makes the timing of this injury even more sad and unfortunate.
LeBron James believes Lakers star Anthony Davis has nothing left to prove
Given how great Anthony Davis was, even in defeat, in this Nuggets series, his co-star LeBron James believes he has nothing left to prove to anybody.
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