With the Los Angeles Lakers‘ season on the line, Anthony Davis will return to the lineup Thursday after missing the previous game and a half of L.A.’s first-round series against the Phoenix Suns with a strained groin, the team announced.
Lakers coach Frank Vogel told reporters before the game that the decision to play Davis would come down to L.A.’s medical staff after it evaluated Davis at the arena.
The seventh-seeded Lakers trail the second-seeded Suns 3-2 in the series, and a loss Thursday would make L.A. just the sixth defending champion in league history to lose in the first round of the playoffs the following year.
Phoenix, on the other hand, could win a playoff series for the first time since 2010.
The Suns anticipated Davis — who averaged 34 points and 10.5 rebounds in L.A.’s two wins in the series — would be available.
“We’ve prepared for Anthony to play,” Suns coach Monty Williams said before the game.
Lakers guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who missed Game 4 and exited Game 5 early because of a sore left knee, will also play, Vogel said.
