Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis didn't return to Sunday's 123-103 win over the Toronto Raptors after getting hit in the eye.
Davis suffered the injury when Jakob Poeltl attempted to throw down a huge dunk on the Lakers big with just under five-and-a-half minutes remaining in the third quarter. However, an outstretched Davis thoroughly rebuffed the attempt in a potential block-of-the-season candidate.
Anthony Davis with the HUGE block
— LakeShow Highlights (@LSH_lakeshow) November 11, 2024
But gets hit in the eye in the process and is down in pain pic.twitter.com/LPgccXjDm7
Davis paid a price, though, as Poeltl's hand caught Davis' left eye as the Raptors center went up. Davis laid on the court in pain for several minutes before heading to the locker room.
Lakers head coach JJ Redick said postgame that Davis was "having trouble seeing" but had no other update to provide, according to ESPN's Dave McMenamin.
Davis experienced swelling, which made it difficult to keep his eye open, and will undergo examination by an ophthalmologist on Mondy, McMenamin added according to sources.
Davis suffered a corneal abrasion in the same eye in March of last season. Though he didn't miss any substantial time, he described the pain as if his eye had been torn open.
The 31-year-old is in the midst of a career year in L.A. He entered Sunday's matchup leading the league in scoring with 32.4 points per game and was also averaging 11.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists, two blocks, and 1.4 steals.
Without Davis for most of the second half, co-star LeBron James took over. The 39-year-old nearly had a triple-double in the final one-and-a-half quarters alone, going for 10 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists following Davis' exit. He registered nine points, eight assists, and three rebounds before the big man's absence to finish with a second straight triple-double - his third in 10 games so far.
