EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — The Lakers’ seven-game winning streak ended with a 122-105 loss Sunday against the Denver Nuggets. Here are three takeaways from the game:
1. The big story was undeniably Anthony Davis leaving in the second quarter because of a strained right Achilles tendon. He will undergo an MRI exam Monday to determine the extent of the injury.
It’s the same tendon that sidelined Davis for two games last week because of Achilles tendonosis, a condition considered more long-term than tendonitis.
Davis was injured Sunday while driving to his left against Denver center Nikola Jokic. There was contact on the play, and Jokic was called for a foul, but Davis appeared to hurt himself while planting his right foot. Davis made two free throws and then checked out of the game, limping slowly to the locker room with 2:36 until halftime.
“That last step kind of reaggravated the injury I already had,” Davis said. “Get an MRI [Monday] and try to figure out the next step so I can get back out on the floor.”
Later he added, “I don’t want to mess around with this kind of injury.”
Davis had 15 points and four rebounds in 15 minutes Sunday. He was coming off a game in which he scored 35 points against Memphis.
The Lakers will not have a timetable for Davis’ return until at least Monday. There are nine games left until the All-Star break, which runs from March 5-10.
“We’ve played games without him and we’ve won games without him,” Lakers Coach Frank Vogel said. “We’ve got plenty of firepower to win games.
2. If Davis sits out an extended period, two players will need to step up — Kyle Kuzma and Markieff Morris.
Kuzma has been solid lately while his all-around game develops at a steady pace. The Lakers’ reserve forward started the third quarter in place of Davis and finished with 19 points and eight rebounds. He’ll presumably join the starting five in Davis’ place Tuesday against Minnesota.
Morris, for his part, will slide into Kuzma’s reserve spot. He hasn’t made as much of an impact this season and was scoreless Sunday, missing all five of his shots.
3. The Lakers continued to struggle with their outside touch Sunday, making only six of 28 shots behind the arc.
The Nuggets outscored the Lakers by 39 from three-point range, a crushing difference for any team, especially one without Davis for the second half of Sunday’s game.
LeBron James missed all five of his three-point shots. Kuzma and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope were each one of four against Denver.
The Lakers were a top-three team from three-point range the first month of the season but slipped to 14th before Sunday. They’ve made 10 three-pointers only once in their last eight games.
“We are struggling to shoot the ball from the perimeter for a couple weeks now,” Vogel said. “You just stay the course…generate quality shots and have our guys continue to honor their work, and the numbers come back around.”