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Davis doesn't 'regret anything' about playing in Game 6 loss

MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images / MediaNews Group / Getty

When Anthony Davis limped off the court in noticeable discomfort during a decisive Game 6 against the Phoenix Suns, it all but sealed the Los Angeles Lakers' playoffs fate.

Despite exacerbating a groin injury that forced the eight-time All-Star to miss Game 5 and subsequently struggle through the early stages of Thursday's 113-100 loss at the Staples Center, Davis says it was all worth it.

"Me going out there didn’t have anything to do with me trying to be tough. I felt I owed it to my team to try to be out there with them," Davis told Yahoo Sports' Chris Haynes following the game.

"I knew the only way I was going to be healthy enough to play was to get some rest, but time wasn’t on my side. So, I tried to give it a go. I don’t regret anything. I’ll be fine. Our team will be fine. I like our chances when healthy."

Davis was questionable to play after exiting Game 4 due to the left groin strain. The Kentucky product looked like a shadow of his characteristically active self on Thursday, lasting a little more than five minutes before hobbling towards the locker room.

The reports that followed the 28-year-old's premature departure claimed that some of his teammates were among those against Davis suiting up for the pivotal tilt, sources told Haynes.

Davis' inability to play in Game 6 was evident from the first tip, and the same groin strain that caused him to miss the previous contest bothered him early in the opening frame.

"I couldn’t move to my right," Davis told Haynes. "That’s why I reacted that way when [Devin] Booker drove left and I had to slide to my right. That shit hurt. There was nothing I could do, but I just wanted to be out there for my team so bad."

The defending champion Lakers are left to lick their wounds after faltering in the first round. Like Davis, LeBron James also enters the offseason with a recurring injury after missing a career-long 20-game stretch due to a high ankle sprain that limited him in the playoffs.

"I’m not worried about anything," said James told Yahoo Sports. "I just need rest. I was told that from the beginning. I gave what I had."

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