LOS ANGELES — Starting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope will miss Game 4 of the Los Angeles Lakers’ first-round playoff series with the Phoenix Suns due to a bruised knee.
The defending NBA champion Lakers announced the decision shortly before tipoff Sunday at Staples Center.
Los Angeles forward Anthony Davis and Phoenix guard Chris Paul are active for Game 4 despite injuries.
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.
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.
Davis was listed as questionable after hyperextending his knee during Game 3, but he vowed Saturday to play through any discomfort. He scored 34 points in each of the Lakers’ back-to-back victories in the series.
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