LOS ANGELES -- Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis missed his third consecutive game with a bruised backside while guard Rajon Rondo, with a hand injury, also sat against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday.
Davis suffered his injury, which the Lakers are calling a gluteus maximus contusion, taking a hard fall on his lower back after trying to block a shot by Julius Randle of the New York Knicks last week.
Rondo suffered a nondisplaced volar plate avulsion fracture to his right ring finger in Saturday's victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder. X-rays at the arena came back negative, but a MRI on Monday revealed the fracture. Rondo is expected to be out four to five days, a league source told ESPN.
Davis traveled with the Lakers on their 2-0 road trip through Dallas and Oklahoma City but did not play in either contest. Following the game, Davis traveled to Wisconsin to see his beloved Green Bay Packers take on the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC playoffs at Lambeau Field on Sunday. Rondo, JaVale McGee, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Lakers assistant coach Mike Penberthy joined Davis at the game.
Lakers coach Frank Vogel said the team supported the excursion.
"They mentioned it to Rob [Pelinka], Rob mentioned it to me and it's an off day and it's something that we endorse," Vogel said, detailing the line of communication between him and the Lakers' general manager. Vogel said that Davis standing around on the field in freezing temperatures had no ill effects on his rehab.
"Medical team said it was not a factor," Vogel said.
L.A. did not hold its usual morning shootaround Monday, but Vogel said that decision had to do with the Lakers returning from a trip in the Central time zone and wanting to allow his players more time to sleep and get their body clocks back on track.
Davis worked out on the court prior to the Cavs game, but Vogel said the Lakers' star big man "still had some soreness" and was "still not ready" to return. Vogel, who said the Lakers would take the "long-term, marathon approach" with Davis' injury when asked about it last week, was asked how healthy Davis would need to be in order to return to the court.
"I don't know if it's going to be 100 percent pain free," Vogel said. "It's really just going to be day-to-day and he'll communicate with the medical team and we want him as close to pain-free as possible. But I don't know if it's 100 percent, 99 percent. They'll tell me when he's ready."
L.A. started LeBron James, Avery Bradley, Danny Green, Kyle Kuzma and McGee in a 128-99 win over the Cavaliers.