LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis has been ruled out for the second half of Game 4 against the Phoenix Suns due to a left groin strain.
The defending NBA champion Lakers also played Sunday without starting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who was sidelined by a bruised knee.
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Chris Paul played for the Phoenix Suns despite his injured right shoulder, managing six points and five assists in the first half of Game 4.
Davis played 19 minutes in the first half, but scored only six points on 2-for-9 shooting. He hyperextended his leg in Game 3, but was attempting to play through the latest in a long series of injuries for the superstar big man this esason.
Davis scored 34 points in each of the Lakers’ back-to-back victories in the series, but he was ineffective in Game 4. He didn't come out for the second half warmups with his teammates, and the Lakers ruled him out shortly afterward.
Caldwell-Pope was injured in the third quarter of the Lakers' victory in Game 3. He went through a pregame workout before Game 4, but Los Angeles decided to hold him out.
Caldwell-Pope was the third-leading scorer on the Lakers' championship team last season, but he struggled in the first three games against Phoenix before his injury. He scored just 12 points in 92 minutes, going 1 for 13 on 3-pointers and failing to score at all in Game 2.
Veteran Wesley Matthews took Caldwell-Pope's spot in the starting lineup. Matthews hit two key 3-pointers in the fourth quarter of Game 3, and he hit two more early in Game 4.
Paul was in Phoenix's starting lineup again despite being clearly limited in the last two games by his right shoulder injury. The star point guard skipped practice Saturday to rest ahead of Sunday's game.
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