As the Dallas Mavericks and the Utah Jazz were in the closing minutes of their Thursday night battle, Dallas watched its star big man leave the court early with an apparent injury.
According to ESPN’s Tim McMahon, Anthony Davis was dealing with a potential left-hand injury. The veteran big man “doubled over in pain” when he reached the tunnel, before getting back to the locker room.
With so little time left in the game, it was clear that Davis’ night was finished. He checked out with 35 minutes played. During that time, Davis shot 10-20 from the field to score 21 points.
He collected a double-double with 11 rebounds, as well as registering four assists, one steal, and one block.
The Mavericks fell short against the Jazz with a 116-114 loss. With that defeat, the Mavs fell to 14-24 on the year, while the Jazz advanced to 13-24.
Not only have the Mavericks added concerns now with Davis’ potential setback, but they also allow the Jazz to inch one game closer in the Western Conference.
Jason Kidd Addresses Anthony Davis’ Setback
After the game, Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd was expectedly asked about the in-game setback that occurred to the multi-time All-Star big man.
With the injury happening so late, the head coach didn’t have much during his postgame presser.
“He hurt his left hand, that’s all we have,” Kidd told reporters.
This season, Davis hasn’t been able to steer clear of setbacks. Early on, he was out for a large chunk of time. Back in November, Davis missed a stretch of games, which lasted nearly the entire month.
While Davis has found some consistency with his availability as of late, he’s got another issue to worry about.
That’s really been the story of Davis’ tenure with the Mavericks. After getting traded to Dallas in the Luka Doncic stunner last year, Davis played in just nine games. He hoped for a positive fresh start, but he has just 19 games played so far this season.
Davis has been averaging a little over 30 minutes of action. He is producing 20.3 points per game, 11.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.7 blocks.
With the trade deadline one month away, Davis is a name to watch for once again. As the Mavericks haven’t been able to to find consistency with the 32-year-old star, he might get moved for the right deal. So far, Davis hasn’t had a ton of links to other teams outside of the Chicago Bulls and the Atlanta Hawks. That could change, depending on how the league shakes out in the next few weeks.
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