Lakers center Anthony Davis will miss Thursday evening’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers at Crypto.com Arena because of a left ankle sprain, the team announced.
Davis had initially been listed as questionable, then downgraded to doubtful in the injury report issued by the league at 12:30 p.m. The Lakers announced at 4:35 p.m. that Davis would miss the game while reserve guard Gabe Vincent will miss his second consecutive game because of a left oblique strain.
Davis suffered the injury in the first quarter of a 115-113 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Christmas and missed the remainder of the game.
Davis started each of the next two games, despite initially being listed as questionable. He scored 36 points and pulled down 15 rebounds, both game highs, in a 132-122 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Saturday and scored 28 points and pulled down a team-high 13 rebounds in a 122-110 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday.
Vincent suffered his injury in the second quarter of Saturday’s game and hasn’t played since. The 6-foot-2 inch Vincent has played in 31 of the Lakers’ 32 games, averaging 4.3 points and 18.9 minutes per game.
Portland forward Jerami Grant will miss his second consecutive game because of a face contusion suffered in Saturday’s 126-122 victory over the Dallas Mavericks. Grant is the Trail Blazers’ third-leading scorer, averaging 15.0 points per game.
Tuesday’s loss to the Cavaliers ended a run of five victories in six games for the Lakers (18-14). They are seventh in the Western Conference, a half-game behind the Clippers (19-14) and would play in the Play-in Tournament for the third consecutive season and fourth time in five seasons if the season ended Thursday.
This will be the second of four games between the teams this season. The Lakers defeated Portland, 107-98, Dec. 8 at Crypto.com Arena with Davis scoring a game-high 30 points.
The Trail Blazers (11-21) are 13th in the 15-team Western Conference, five games behind the Golden State Warriors (16-16) in the race for the final spot in the Play-in Tournament. Portland has lost seven consecutive road games.
Trail Blazers forward Jabari Walker played at Campbell Hall School in North Hollywood from 2016-19, then completed his high school career by playing one season for AZ Compass Prep in Chandler, Arizona.
The 7:30 p.m. game will be televised by Spectrum SportsNet.