Los Angeles Lakers’ Anthony Davis exits with stomach illness; team says not COVID-related

A stomach illness caused Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis’ night to end prematurely during Saturday’s 105-90 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, according to the team.

Davis exited the match with 4:51 left in the first quarter. He went straight to the locker room and did not return. The illness is not COVID-19 related, according to a team spokesperson.

Head coach Frank Vogel said Davis tried to play Saturday despite vomiting four times before tip-off.

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“He was battling with the thumb, trying to figure out if that was going to inhibit him from playing, and then he woke up this afternoon with a bit of a stomach bug,” Vogel said of Davis, who came into the game listed as questionable because of a sprained left thumb he suffered in Thursday’s loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

“Came back in and said the thumb felt pretty good, probably good enough to play, then he went and threw up in the back. Still wanted to give it a go, but … by the time tip-off came around, he had already thrown up four times. He just wanted to see if getting out on the floor would change it, but wasn’t able to go.”

L.A. ruled out Davis early in the second quarter.

The Lakers were outscored by 11 points in the seven minutes he played, as Davis went 1-for-5 from the floor and had two points, three rebounds and a foul.

The Lakers trailed the Blazers 36-14 after the first quarter.

Before the match, Vogel credited Davis’ mentality to play through discomfort this season after missing 36 out of 72 games in 2020-21 because of various injuries.

“I know this year he’s very upset with how last year went and how much time he missed,” Vogel said. “So, everything that’s 50-50 whether to be in or out thus far this year, it’s been, ‘I’m playing unless I absolutely can’t play.’ He’s just not happy with how much time he missed last year. So, if he can play without major limitations, he’s going to be in there.”