Pelicans' Davis gets good news on injured finger

New Orleans Pelicans star Anthony Davis could return next week after conferring with specialists Wednesday, when it was feared he might miss up to a month because of a finger injury. Davis suffered an injury to his left index finger in Friday's 128-112 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers. The original diagnosis was a sprain that would keep him out up to two weeks, but his agent, Rich Paul, later said the injury was a volar plate avulsion fracture that could lengthen Davis' absence.

So Wednesday's evaluation was good news. "It's a better outcome than we originally feared," Paul told ESPN.

Davis will be re-evaluated Friday and "every 48 to 72 hours" after that, Paul told ESPN. "It's more of an injury of pain tolerance," Paul said. "They need to see the swelling go down and the range of motion increase."

Davis injured the finger swiping at the ball as Portland's Zach Collins held it on the wing. He immediately grabbed at his hand after making contact with Collins' arm. The All-Star center is having another monster season with career-best averages in points (29.3), rebounds (13.3), assists (4.4) and steals (1.7). He is also blocking 2.6 shots per game.

The Pelicans (22-25) play at Oklahoma City on Thursday night after hosting the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night. They are home to play the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday before going to Houston for a Tuesday game. --Field Level Media