During the Lakers 104-92 loss to the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday Night, Pau Gasol aggravated his groin in the first half of play. Gasol was held out of the first minute and a half of the third quarter to stretch out his injured groin. Pau returned but was clearly laboring with every trip up and down the court due to the injury according to Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report:
Pau is wincing as he goes back on D. He had a groin issue at halftime and was late to start the second half, according to @LakersReporter.
— KEVIN DING (@KevinDing) January 29, 2014
Gasol was able to finish with a strong stat line of 21 points and 13 rebonds, his fifth straight game with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Even though Gasol is posting All-Star caliber stats as of late, the Lakers continue to struggle, especially on the defensive end, as they have gone 3-17 in their last 20 games.
After the game Pau admitted that he had injured his groin according to Lakers Nation reporter Serena Winters:
Mike D'Antoni confirmed Pau Gasol has a groin issue, says he'll probably rest tomorrow, "we'll see for Friday."
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) January 29, 2014
Since returning from his upper respiratory infection, Gasol has easily been the best and most consistent player for Lakers, averaging over 20 points and 12 rebounds in January.
With the Lakers already missing key backcourt players in Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash, losing Gasol long term could be detrimental to the Lakers’ chances of turning things around. Gasol returning for the second half was a good sign as the injury-ridden Lakers can’t afford to lose any more players.
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