Anthony Davis had a dominant performance during his Mavericks debut Saturday afternoon, but he also suffered an injury that prevented him from finishing the game, writes Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News.
Davis posted 26 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists in 30 minutes of action as Dallas defeated Houston to improve to 28-25. He also had three blocks, helping the Mavs set a franchise record with 18 total.
However, Curtis relays that the crowd let out a loud groan late in the third quarter when Davis grabbed his groin area while defending Rockets center Alperen Sengun. He signaled to the Dallas bench for a substitution and spent the rest of the contest in the locker room.
It was the first game action in more than a week for Davis, who suffered a strained abdomen while he was still with the Lakers. He told reporters, including Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal (Twitter link), that he doesn’t believe today’s injury scare is a cause for concern.
“My leg got tight, like a little spasm,” Davis explained. “I came back to try to get it loose while still dealing with the abdominal strain. But I managed to loosen it up, and it’s nothing serious. I’m fine.” He added that the pain was in the “groin-quad kind of area.”
Davis is “very confident” that he didn’t suffer a setback in his recovery from the abdomen issue, per Marc Stein (Twitter link).
There’s no word yet on his status for Monday’s home game against Sacramento or how the injury might affect his availability for next weekend’s All-Star Game.
Davis’ outstanding start seemed to lift the spirits of a crowd that was still angry about the surprise trade that sent Luka Doncic to L.A. last weekend, Curtis adds. The Mavericks gave him the ball on the first play of the game, and he responded to a double team by throwing a lob pass to Daniel Gafford for a dunk. A few seconds later, he blocked Sengun’s shot and fired an outlet pass to P.J. Washington for a breakaway slam.
He described his first quarter showing as “a friendly reminder of who Anthony Davis is,” according to Stein (Twitter link). It was a message to fans that Dallas didn’t get taken in the Doncic trade, even though Curtis reports that more than 100 of them held a pre-game protest outside the arena with calls to sell the team and fire general manager Nico Harrison. Even so, Davis got a rousing reception when his name was announced during introductions.
Davis was also asked about his relationship with the Adelson and Dumont families, who own the Mavericks and signed off on the controversial deal, per Christian Clark of The Athletic (Twitter link).
“I know they have a vision and a plan for the team,’ Davis responded. “I heard some things from coaches about their casino thing they are trying to bring to Dallas. They have some really big ideas. Probably in the near future, will have dinner with them and just talk.”
The uproar over the Doncic trade led to a conspiracy theory that the Adelsons and Dumonts want to move the team to Las Vegas or some other location where it might be easier to get approval for a casino. Those rumors became so widespread that ownership issued a statement of denial, according to Tim Cato of DLLS Sports (subscriber only).
“The Adelson and Dumont Families have already started and are committed to investing and building in Dallas/Ft. Worth,” the statement reads. “The families have absolutely no plans to move the team out of North Texas.”