Rockets’ Covington hurt in collision with Davison September 9, 2020 at 6:05 am

12:58 AM ET

Houston Rockets forward Robert Covington exited Tuesday’s Game 3 loss early due to a facial injury after colliding with Los Angeles Lakers power forward Anthony Davis.

“I think he got hit in the nose, and he was bleeding pretty good,” said Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni, who did not yet know the severity of the injury nor whether it might prevent Covington from being available for Thursday’s Game 4.

Covington crashed to the floor with 4:50 remaining in the Rockets’ 112-102 loss after taking an inadvertent elbow to the face from Davis. Davis also went down, holding his hip after being hit by Covington’s elbow, but remained in the game.

The players collided while scrambling for a rebound after Covington was knocked off balance by a push in the back from Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma. The back of Covington’s head appeared to hit the floor when he fell.

“If he’s not able to play, we’ve got to figure that out,” Rockets guard Russell Westbrook said. “But his health is way more important than a basketball game. That’s what I’m worried about.”

Covington had 10 points, 5 rebounds and 4 steals in 36 minutes before being injured. The Rockets were already down a player in the front-court rotation because sixth man Danuel House Jr. did not play due to personal reasons.

Asked if he anticipated that House would be available for Game 4, D’Antoni said, “I have no idea.”