Lakers fall but loss of Davis is worse

DENVER • National Basketball Association (NBA) champions Los Angeles Lakers saw their seven-game winning streak come to an end on Sunday but of greater concern was the sight of Anthony Davis departing early.

The All-Star, who missed two games last week because of a sore Achilles, aggravated that injury in the second quarter and did not return for the rest of the game.

The Denver Nuggets took advantage of his enforced absence as Nikola Jokic had a triple-double - 23 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists - and Jamal Murray led all scorers with 25 points as the hosts won 122-105.

Los Angeles (21-7) remain second in the West, but the visitors are concerned they may be without Davis, who had an MRI scan done on Monday, for some time.

Finals Most Valuable Player LeBron James, who led his team with 22 points, said: "Just want him to be healthy and get back to full strength. All I care is about his health.

"It's definitely deflating any time you lose a big player - a big guy on your team. We have a lot of things that's built in around AD and a lot of other players. When he goes down, you have to switch up. That hurt us."

Achilles problems are particularly concerning for NBA players as they can manifest into one of the worst possible basketball injuries - a torn Achilles tendon.

There has been a spate of All-Stars suffering torn Achilles tendons in recent years - from DeMarcus Cousins to Klay Thompson to Kevin Durant.

Davis knows he has to nip the problem in the bud and given his injury issues at previous team New Orleans Pelicans, he is not taking any chances with his health.

"I don't want to mess around with this type of injury," the forward, who had 14 points in 15 minutes here, said. "Just trying to figure out the best steps."

While the Lakers sorely missed Davis, Denver were also injury hit, with Gary Harris, P.J. Dozier and Will Barton out and they lost Paul Millsap in the second quarter after he was hit in the thigh on a screen by Alex Caruso.

But the Nuggets still led by 12 points at half-time and as many as 21 in the fourth quarter, improving to seventh in the West with a 15-11 record.

This was the second meeting of the season between the teams who advanced to the Western Conference finals last season and the match-up is now tied at one apiece after the Lakers' 114-93 win earlier this month.

However, Denver coach Michael Malone is not reading too much into Sunday's upset, saying: "In my opinion, and no disrespect to any players that are not back... I think they're (the Lakers) even better this year with the talent they've brought in."

Elsewhere, NBA scoring leader Bradley Beal poured in 35 points on Sunday to spark the Washington Wizards over the Boston Celtics 104-91, delivering a rare home victory for what had been the league's second-worst squad.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS