AD put injury out of mind in return: I 'wasn't hesitant with anything'

Los Angeles Lakers big man Anthony Davis wasn't worried about whether he would need some time to get into the right headspace after a 30-game layoff. Davis said his previous calf injury wasn't even a consideration on Thursday.

"I didn't think about it one time tonight," Davis said after his team's 115-110 loss to the Dallas Mavericks. "Honestly, I just went out there and played. I think it can limit what you do if you're out there thinking about your injury, so I just went out and played and not think about it, just go out there and have fun and be excited to be back on the floor.

"That was my main thing. I was just excited to be back on the floor with the guys, so I never thought about it. I never did limits to any moves. Wasn't hesitant with anything, so that was a good sign for me."

Davis didn't see his standard 32-plus minutes of action in his first appearance since Valentine's Day, in line with head coach Frank Vogel's precautions. The 28-year-old only played 17 minutes - all in the first half.

The perennial All-Star finished with four points on 2-of-10 shooting, adding four rebounds, one assist, one steal, and one block. The Lakers squad posted a minus-28.2 net rating with Davis on the floor, but that figure improved to minus-10.2 in 12 minutes while paired with two-time All-Star center Andre Drummond, who signed with the team while Davis was sidelined.

Drummond, who has led the NBA in rebounds per game on four occasions since 2015, likely benefitted the most from Davis' return - and his apparent rust.

"Being on the same court as AD has freed the game up for me a lot to do some of the things that I'm very good at, which is rebounding," said Drummond, according to ESPN's Dave McMenamin.

"The focus is all on him. When he gets the ball, all five eyes are at him, but not only are they doing that, they're leaving the best rebounder in the NBA wide open. Any shot he misses, I'm right there to clean it up."