Anthony Davis gave the Lakers a scare in the fourth quarter
Davis limped around with an ankle injury after coming down hard in the fourth quarter of Game 4. AD lucked out, ironically, as his ankle didn’t bend at a harsh enough angle to sprain or break completely.
Davis scored 34 points in 41 minutes of play. This came after a subpar Game 3, in which he and the Lakers were humiliated on the boards by the Denver Nuggets. Come Game 4, Frank Vogel made a lineup change and started Dwight Howard as an answer to LA’s rebounding woes.
Had Davis been forced out for Game 5, it’s likely the Lakers would’ve turned to Javale McGee in the starting five, but thankfully that will not be the case, as AD himself stated he’d be ready to go despite injury.
“Ankle feels fine,” Davis said postgame. “I got tonight, tomorrow, before the (next) game to get it (better).”
The Lakers have a 3-1 advantage, and don’t want to give the Nuggets any daylight
Denver, of course, has come back from 3-1 deficits in both the first round of the playoffs against the Utah Jazz and the Western Conference Semifinals against the Los Angeles Clippers. The Lakers are one game away from the Finals, and LeBron James refuses to be another victim.
James himself is experiencing pain, as he was kneed in the thigh in Game 4.
“Both are experiencing some soreness but are good to go,” Vogel said about Davis and James postgame.
At this point in the postseason, it would have to be a disastrously severe injury to keep either Davis or James from trying to close things out on Saturday night.