Halo

New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis left Saturday's game against the Chicago Bulls after taking a nasty fall on his right shoulder and would not return, per the team's Twitter feed.

Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports reported that Davis is "just sore."

Davis fell after finishing off an alley-oop on a fast break. NBA.com shows how it happened:



Voted an All-Star starter for the first time in 2015, Davis is in the midst of what can only be viewed as his breakout campaign. He's been on the periphery of the MVP discussion all season, becoming the two-way force New Orleans envisioned when taking him No. 1 overall in 2012.

Davis has put together video game stat lines that have obscured the shortcomings of the rest of the Pelicans roster. That roster is arguably the main reason Davis isn't the MVP front-runner.

The Pelicans, Phoenix Suns and Oklahoma City Thunder have spent most of the last few months battling for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Injuries to the likes of Jrue Holiday and wildly disappointing performances from players such as Eric Gordon have left New Orleans often galloping in a clear third place in that race.

Davis has also missed time this season with a number of ailments, most notably a toe injury and sprained groin. The Pelicans have fallen apart in those games, which have included losses to the bottom-dwelling New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers.

To put it mildly, New Orleans will be hoping any Davis absence proves short-term.



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Read more New Orleans Pelicans news on BleacherReport.com



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