Lakers take down Nuggets but lose Davis to foot injury

LeBron James tallied 30 points to go with nine rebounds and four assists as the Los Angeles Lakers blew out the Denver Nuggets 126-108 despite playing without star forward Anthony Davis for the entire second half.

Davis was ruled out at halftime with what the Lakers deemed a foot injury. He appeared to suffer the knock in the first quarter when attempting a layup that Nuggets center Nikola Jokic contested. He began limping after landing and later received treatment on his foot while on the bench.

While he's dealing with right foot discomfort, his injury may not be severe, a source told ESPN's Dave McMenamin. Davis is reportedly likely to undergo further evaluation and an MRI.

Lakers head coach Darvin Ham said postgame that the medical team was still evaluating Davis and confirmed subsequent testing for the big man Saturday, according to Jovan Buha of The Athletic.

The Lakers forward had 10 points, four rebounds, and two assists through 17 minutes before being ruled out.

Russell Westbrook registered a triple-double of 15 points, 12 assists, and 11 rebounds off the bench in the victory, which snapped Denver's three-game winning streak. Reserve center Thomas Bryant, who started the second half in Davis' absence, scored a season-high 21 points, with 16 coming after the intermission.

The Nuggets were led by Jokic, who finished two assists shy of a 25-point triple-double. Guard Jamal Murray finished with 23 points, six assists, and five rebounds in the loss. Aaron Gordon (17) and Bruce Brown (11) were the only other Nuggets players to score in double digits.

Despite an injury-plagued 2021-22 campaign, Davis has stayed relatively healthy this season. Though he's been a frequent name on the Lakers' injury reports with persistent low back tightness - an ailment that's bothered him since preseason - the eight-time All-Star missed only three of his team's 27 games this year.

Entering Friday, Davis was averaging 28.1 points - tied for his career high - and an NBA-best 12.4 rebounds per game. He was performing even better in December, scoring at least 30 points in five of six games played - the outlier was Dec. 6, when he left a loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers after eight minutes due to flu-like symptoms.