The Dallas Mavericks got the full Anthony Davis experience on his debut against the Houston Rockets on Saturday at American Airlines Center. Davis was dominant in the first half but exited the game with a non-contact injury in the third quarter. Mavericks fans feared the worst at that point but Davis revealed postgame it’s nothing serious.
“Leg got tight, like a little spasm,” Davis said. “Came back, tried to get it loose and everything. Obviously, dealing with the ab strain still, so just tried to get it loose, it wouldn’t really loosen up, let go. But it’s nothing serious. I’m fine.”
Davis was then asked which area of the leg he had injured.
“My groin,” Davis stated. “Like groin-quad kind of area, right in there.”
That is good to know. You always fear the worst when it’s a non-contact injury as they are usually the worst kind. In case you missed it, here is how Davis got injured toward the end of the third quarter.
Anthony Davis went to the locker room with a non-contact injury pic.twitter.com/uq4671SOJG
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 8, 2025
You can understand why many feared the worst watching that. It was especially a gut punch considering how well he was playing.
Davis had 24 points (9-13 FG), 13 rebounds, five assists, and three blocks at halftime against the Rockets. The nine-time All-Star dominated on both ends of the floor to help the Mavericks have a commanding 65-48 lead at the end of the second quarter.
Davis seemed on his way to putting up a monstrous stat line but the injury bug then struck. The 31-year-old’s night ended with 26 points (10-18 FG), 16 rebounds, seven assists, and three blocks.
It would appear Davis could have come back in the game, but NBA insider Shams Charania stated on NBA Countdown that the Mavericks wanted to play it safe.
“Anthony Davis has some soreness in that groin area, but it’s not expected to be a serious injury,” Charania said. “They’ll see tonight, tomorrow how he feels. I’m told he actually tried to play after exiting the game tonight but they just decided to be cautious with it. We’re about less than a week before the All-Star break, so I do think that Mavericks and Anthony Davis will take a safe approach going into the break.”
Davis had just returned from a five-game absence due to an abdominal strain, so it made little sense to take a risk here. The Mavericks will be playing three more games before the All-Star break and it will be interesting to see if he features in any of them.
While the injury is disappointing, the star big man gave Mavericks fans a reason to smile with his performance here. Davis had promised he’d give the city its life back after Luka Doncic’s departure and had the arena buzzing with his performance.
You worried the Mavericks might collapse once Davis exited but they withstood a comeback attempt by the Rockets and won 116-105. It was their second straight win and they have now improved to 28-25 on the season.
The Mavericks will look to make it three wins in a row when they take on the Sacramento Kings at American Airlines Center on Monday at 8:30 PM ET.
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