Beating the Golden State Warriors on their home floor twice in the same series would’ve been a massive accomplishment for the Los Angeles Lakers, especially considering Game 5 was a closeout game for them.
While the Lakers showed some signs of life throughout the night, they were overwhelmed by the Warriors and now head back to Los Angles where they’ll have another opportunity to send the defending champions home.
The Lakers had a couple of opportunities to narrow the gap against the Warriors, but couldn’t seem to get over the hump as they failed to string together many meaningful runs. Both LeBron James and Anthony Davis had strong performances, but the supporting cast left much to be desired.
Unfortunately, Los Angeles saw Davis get hit in the head in the fourth quarter and had to come out. According to Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report, the injury was bad enough to have him placed in a wheelchair:
Anthony Davis has been escorted away in a wheel chair for further evaluation. https://t.co/vmhusZYPMT
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) May 11, 2023
The immediate concern is a concussion as Davis did appear dazed on the bench before being helped back to the locker room. Shortly after the game ended, Darvin Ham did provide a positive update.
“Yeah, obviously everyone saw he took a shot to the head, but we just checked in on him,” Ham said. “He seems to be doing really good already. That’s just where he’s at. That’s the status of it right now.”
Haynes would later add that he is hearing that Davis avoided a concussion:
Early diagnosis indicates Anthony Davis appears to have avoided a concussion and is doing much better now, league sources tell @NBAonTNT, @BleacherReport.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) May 11, 2023
It’s obviously good news for the Lakers that Davis is feeling better after taking a blow to the head, but they’re not out of the woods yet until it’s official that he avoided a concussion. If Davis does end up getting diagnosed with one, that would all but rule him out for the remainder of the series should it extend past Game 6 on Friday.
Losing Davis would be a disaster scenario for the purple and gold, who need their star big man on the floor to beat the Warriors. He’s been the difference in such a tightly-contested series and L.A. doesn’t have anyone that could replace his two-way impact.
For now, the organization and its fans must continue to hope for positive updates on Davis and pray he’s able to suit up next game at home.
LeBron James wasn’t concerned about Lakers being comfortable up 3-1
James knows better than anyone that Golden State can flip a series on its head at any moment. Even after the Lakers went up 3-1 after Game 4, he knew he and the team wouldn’t be able to get comfortable.
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