Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis came up with a massive block Sunday night, one of his best in recent memory.
The play, however, came at a price.
Davis, after stuffing Toronto Raptors big man Jakob Poeltl at the rim, went down to the court immediately in pain after Poeltl accidentally drilled him in the eye. Davis crawled off the floor at Crypto.com Arena while play continued and then he remained down for several moments before he was helped off the floor and taken to the locker room.
Davis was ruled out of the game midway through the fourth quarter with the eye injury. He finished the night with 22 points and four rebounds.
Further specifics on Davis’ eye injury aren’t known. He sustained a corneal abrasion to the same eye in March last season, too. He played again two days later, but he aggravated the injury again about a month later. He said that his eyelid was briefly swollen shut from the initial hit.
Davis entered Sunday averaging a career-high 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 he was cleared to play Sunday night.
Despite losing Davis, the Lakers surged ahead in the second half to grab a 123-103 win over Toronto. LeBron James had a triple-double with 19 points, 16 assists and 10 rebounds in the win. It marked his third triple-double this season. Austin Reaves added 27 points, and D’Angelo Russell finished with 15 points off the bench.
R.J. Barrett led the Raptors, who now sit at just 2-9 on the year and have yet to win a road game, with 18 points and seven rebounds. Chris Boucher added 18 points off the bench, too.
The Lakers have now won two straight after Friday’s 10-point win over the Philadelphia 76ers. They hold a 6-4 record, and will host the Memphis Grizzles next on Wednesday night.