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Lakers’ Anthony Davis says his eye is fine after being stabbed. He again refuses to wear goggles
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Lakers’ Anthony Davis says his eye is fine after being stabbed. He again refuses to wear goggles

EL SEGUNDO, California. – Anthony Davis says he’s recovered from being poked in the left eye by Toronto’s Jakob Poeltl, and his latest eye injury still hasn’t convinced him to wear goggles.

The Los Angeles Lakers The star man said Tuesday that he will play Wednesday night against Memphis. Davis brushed off the potential impact of the injury, even though his left eye was visibly discolored and red after practice at the Lakers’ practice facility.

“I’m going to go about my day and do what I have to do,” Davis said. “Next is to sleep more.”

Davis said he had “no idea” if his last injury is another abrasion of the cornea. He had that injury last March after getting hit in a game against Golden State, but didn’t miss a single moment.

“A few scratches to the eye,” Davis said. “As far as the medical term and all that, I’m not 100 percent sure, but I’m cleared to play.”

Every time Davis gets hit in the face by opponents, the nine-time All-Star is asked if he would consider wearing goggles or goggles like equally dominant big men Kareem Abdul-Jabbar or Amare Stoudemire. Before the regular questioning was completed Tuesday, Davis replied, “No.”

“I don’t want to, and the doctor said I don’t have to,” Davis said. “Now, if it gets to a point where the doctor prescribes to (wear goggles), then of course I will.”

Davis wore goggles for about three years as a high school prospect. He briefly tried wearing goggles again during the Lakers’ championship run in Florida’s 2020 pandemic bubble, but quickly gave it up.

Davis was injured midway through the third quarter against Toronto on Sunday night while making a sensational one-handed block of a dunk attempt by Poeltl, who accidentally hit Davis in the face with his hand off Davis did not return to the game, but the Lakers did cruised to a 123-103 victory over the Raptors.

Davis has had a tremendous start to the regular season, sparking early MVP talk for the 31-year-old. He is second in the NBA with 31.2 points per game, along with 10.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.0 blocks for the Lakers (6-4).

Backing up Davis is Jaxson Hayes, who had a game-high 12 points against Toronto. But the Lakers are thin at center in the continued absence of Christian Wood, who has had a recent setback in his recovery from left knee surgery.

Lakers coach JJ Redick said Wood had been experiencing knee soreness while returning to practice the past few days. Wood was ruled out for two months.

“We’re going to cut it back,” Redick said. “We’ll have an update in about four weeks.”

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA

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