Anthony Davis suffers non-contact injury during Mavericks-Rockets in Dallas debut

The key piece of the Luka Doncic trade goes down in his first game in a Dallas uniform.

Feb 8, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Anthony Davis (3) falls to the court during the second quarter against the Houston Rockets at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Just when you thought the injury bug couldn't get worse for the Mavericks, it does. P.J. Washington left the game just before halftime with an ankle injury and wouldn't return. Then, Anthony Davis went out before the end of the third quarter with an apparent groin injury, and he'd go back to the locker room. It's hard to tell exactly what happened, but it looks like he was sliding over to defend a dunk attempt at the rim, and something must've been pulled or strained.

READ MORE: Key Mavericks starter suffers injury vs. Rockets, will not return to game

Dallas Mavericks forward Anthony Davis (3) celebrates after he dunks the ball during the second quarter against the Houston Rockets at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Davis was dazzling prior to going down, putting up 26 points, 16 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 blocks in just under 31 minutes- about as good of a debut as you could hope for. He was anchoring a defense that was holding Houston's offense down.

There is some irony to this, as the Mavericks traded away Luka Doncic because of injury and conditioning concerns, and Anthony Davis, the key return of the Doncic trade, goes down with an injury in his first game with the team. It's brutal to see Davis go down, especially with how well he was playing in this game.

Davis has been mostly healthy recently, playing in 76 games last season for the LA Lakers and in 42 games this season. He'd missed time around the trade due to an abdominal strain, with this being his first game back since that injury, but he was only out for about 10 days.

UPDATE: The Dallas Mavericks say Davis is doubtful to return to the game with a "lower body injury." The update was provided with about five minutes remaining in the game.

READ MORE: Anthony Davis makes history with monster first-quarter performance in Mavericks' debut

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