Anthony Davis has eased fears about the severity of the back injury that forced him out of the Los Angeles Lakers' Game 4 win over the Portland Trail Blazers.
The Lakers cruised to a 135-115 victory to take a 3-1 lead in the first-round series on Monday, but they were without Davis for most of the second half due to back spasms.
The seven-time All-Star headed to the locker room early in the third quarter — when the Lakers had a huge 91-53 lead — and later watched the rest of the game while standing on the sidelines with an electric stimulation device wrapped around his back.
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Anthony Davis has back spasms and will not return according to the Lakers. He has an electric stim machine around his lower back as he stands, rather than sits, by the Lakers bench.
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) August 25, 2020
Davis, who had 18 points in his 18 minutes on the court, does not think it is a major issue as Los Angeles looks to seal the series win in Game 5 on Wednesday.
"Back is doing fine. I'll be fine," he told reporters after the game.
In a separate interview with Spectrum SportsNet, Davis elaborated a little more.
"Back is fine, it got a little tight. Didn't want to risk it. We were playing great basketball where we had a big enough lead where, I was still keeping it loose in case I needed to go back in, but the team did a great job of making sure I could get my back all the way healthy."
Will Anthony Davis play in Game 5 with back spasms?
When asked by Spectrum SportsNet, Anthony Davis said he'll "100% play" in Game 5 against the Trail Blazers.
"Even when I was out, I was still getting treatment on it. They loosened it up to where I was able to go back in if I needed to. I 100% will be playing in Game 5.
"100%. No question I'll be playing in Game 5." @AntDavis23 with @LakersReporter on his status for the next game and tonight's special #Lakers win on Kobe Day. pic.twitter.com/t2KOK2negI
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) August 25, 2020
The Lakers will face the Trail Blazers at 9 p.m. on Wednesday night.