LOS ANGELES — Lakers forward Anthony Davis was ruled out of Sunday night’s 123-103 win over the Toronto Raptors due to a left eye injury.
Davis went to the locker room midway through the third quarter after getting hit in the face while blocking a dunk attempt by Toronto center Jakob Poeltl.
Davis made a one-handed block of Poeltl’s dunk attempt in the lane, but Poeltl’s off hand hit Davis in the face and eyes.
While the Lakers’ home crowd roared, Davis went down in obvious pain, rocking back and forth on the ground with his hands on his face. He stayed down for about a minute before getting up and walking to the Lakers’ dressing room.
Davis suffered a corneal abrasion to that same left eye in March of last season.
Jaxson Hayes took Davis’ spot in the Lakers’ rotation and quickly contributed three dunks and a layup while the Lakers pulled ahead.
Davis is off to an outstanding start to the season, sparking early MVP talk for the nine-time All-Star. He had 22 points, 4 rebounds and 2 blocks before getting hurt against the Raptors.
Davis began the night leading the NBA in scoring at 32.4 points per game, along with 11.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists. He has six 30-point games already this season.
Davis missed last Wednesday’s game in Memphis with a bruised left heel. The big man has a long history of injury problems, but he played in a career-high 76 games last season.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.