EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — The Lakers’ championship run last year took plenty of skill and, indeed, a little luck.

There were no injury issues back then for the Lakers, a healthy team throughout their playoff run on the way to the franchise’s 17th championship.

This season has been the opposite. The latest reminder came when Anthony Davis left Sunday’s game after straining his groin during a driving lay-up attempt late in the second quarter.

The Lakers never recovered and lost to the Phoenix Suns, 100-92, in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series. The Suns evened the series at 2-2 with Game 5 on Tuesday in Phoenix.

The Lakers were ahead by 11 points earlier in the second quarter but took a decisive turn for the worse after Davis missed a lay-up with 48 seconds left until halftime. He landed off balance and stayed down on the court while his team tried to play defense at the other end. Davis then left the game during a timeout and never returned. He did not speak to reporters after the game.

Davis’ availability for Game 5 likely was unclear and additional medical testing was expected, Lakers Coach Frank Vogel said.

“We’ll make those decisions over the next couple days,” he said.

Davis came into the game with a sprained left knee and was deemed questionable beforehand. He made only 2 of 9 shots in 19 minutes.

“I thought he was laboring a little bit. He was saying his knee was sore,” Vogel said. “Then obviously he came out with that groin injury.”

It was the second time this month that Davis was bothered by a groin injury. He missed a regular-season game against Houston less than three weeks ago because of tightness in the groin area.

Injuries have been nothing new for the Lakers. Davis missed exactly half the season because of injuries, primarily a sore Achilles tendon. LeBron James missed more than a third of the season because of a severely sprained ankle.

Davis aside, the Lakers were already short-handed Sunday when Kentavious Caldwell-Pope couldn’t play because of a hyperextended knee.

The Suns, meanwhile, looked plenty healthy.

Chris Paul, notably, had his best game of the series after being slowed by a shoulder injury since Game 1. Paul looked more like his All-Star self and finished with 18 points and 9 assists.

James had a solid day — 25 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists —and will be a massive part of the Lakers’ offense if Davis can’t play in Game 5.

“The health of A.D. is what’s most important for our ball club,” James said. “If he’s not ready for Game 5, that’s gonna be a tough blow…but it’ll be ‘next man up.’ We’ve been like that all year.”