LOS ANGELES — The Lakers lost Anthony Davis to injury and then control of their first-round playoff series with Phoenix on Sunday afternoon, the team’s star unable to finish a 100-92 loss because of a groin strain.
Already hobbled by a sprained left knee, Davis went to the court and clutched at the inside of his upper left leg in the final minute of the first half. He limped through the final seconds of the half and didn’t rejoin the team after halftime.
The Lakers, already playing without Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, head to Phoenix for a crucial Game 5 on Tuesday, their flirtations with being at full strength already over.
LeBon James finished with 25 points, but the Lakers were held under 40% shooting as the Suns defense dominated.
Compounding the Lakers’ issues, the Suns’ fortunes have improved thanks to the most aggressive and effective game from Chris Paul this series. While still favoring his sore right shoulder, Paul was exponentially more of a scoring threat. He led the Suns with 18 points on 15 shots, saying “I’m back” after making one of his jumpers.
Having their leader leveled the Suns, who looked rattled in the final minutes of Game 3 but settled in Sunday and responded to a Lakers run early in the second quarter. Thanks to some early hot shooting, the Lakers led by as many as 11. When Alex Caruso found James for an off-the-backboard alley-oop, the Staples Center bounced with excitement.
On the very next play, Mikal Bridges calmly hit a three, a sign that the Suns weren’t ready to unravel.
With Davis limited to six points on nine shots in 19 minutes, the Lakers struggled to score. No starter other than James scored more than eight points while all five Phoenix starters were in double figures.
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