Lakers’ Anthony Davis misses Indiana game with fever

INDIANAPOLIS — On Tuesday night, Anthony Davis waited impatiently for his fever to break, then arrived at Madison Square Garden less than an hour before the opening tip-off. He hurried through his pregame process without a proper chance to warm up, but still took the court in time to start.

There were no such last-minute heroics from Davis on Wednesday in Indiana. His fever came back, and he stayed in bed.

It was the first official absence of the season for Davis, who has led the Lakers in scoring (24.3 ppg), rebounding (10.3 rpg) and blocked shots (2.2 bpg) while trying to address questions about his toughness by playing through injury and illness. The final leg of the five-game road trip and a back-to-back day of flu-like symptoms were apparently his limit. The symptoms were not related to COVID-19, the Lakers said, and the All-Star big man is vaccinated.

Coach Frank Vogel lamented that the Lakers couldn’t have Davis in the lineup on the same day when LeBron James returned from a one-game suspension, but shifting rotations have been the case for the Lakers all season. In their 20th game, the Lakers used their 10th different starting lineup, with Talen Horton-Tucker in for Davis.

“He’s been in every game, and it’s a different challenge for us obviously with what he does on both sides of the ball,” Vogel said. “This is a big (Pacers) team that we’re playing against, so we will definitely miss his size and length inside. We just have to adjust.”

Davis described his symptoms on Tuesday after their loss to the Knicks: “Headache. All flu symptoms, really. Coughing. Fever. Body aching. Everything.” He said the symptoms contributed to a slow-footed start, and his body took a quarter to warm up.

Earlier this season, Davis made a start at Portland despite vomiting four times beforehand, but he wound up not playing past the first quarter when he had to vomit again. It’s the only other time this season that Davis has missed most of a game.

“I think last season made me realize that I want to play,” he said earlier this year. “I love to play the game. Not being able to play for a significant part of the season, it was just very frustrating.”

The Lakers started DeAndre Jordan at center against Indiana, but they did something in the first half that Vogel had initially said was “unlikely,” playing James and Carmelo Anthony as the two forwards without a traditional center.

The Lakers also kept Horton-Tucker in the starting lineup despite his recent struggles, including an 0-for-8 scoreless night against the Knicks. In addition to continuing to receive treatment on his right thumb, which required surgery in October, Horton-Tucker, just 20 years old, is still learning, Vogel said.

“He’s remaining confident,” Vogel said. “He’ll have a couple off-nights. Show him the film, talk about ways – couple bad decisions, tough shots can lead into a bad rhythm and carry over into a tough night. And I think that was definitely the case last night.”