This is the Anthony Davis the Lakers need. The Angelenos star exploded last night with a whopping double-double of 37 points and 18 rebounds that served to end Brooklyn and break a painful five-game losing streak.
The great performance of the interiors was instrumental in ensuring that those in Los Angeles had an enjoyable night. For the first time in a long time they dominated the match from start to finish. It’s true that there have been times when the New Yorkers have narrowed the score a bit, but it’s no use against a simply better opponent; so much so that with just over four minutes to go they ended the game with an 18-point lead. In the end, 116-103 in favor of the Lakers.
Back to Davis –because he deserves it–, he spent 34 minutes on the court to reach 37 points on 15-of-25 shooting from the field. He didn’t shoot threes and was perfect from the free throw line with 7 of 7. To that pitching performance he added 18 rebounds (10 offensively) and a couple of assists. He gave the best version of him without LeBron James (low due to injury). Here it is.
“I knew I had to dominate to get this win. With LeBron gone, a lot of guys are leaning on me to get the job done. I tried to get on the court and score inside knowing they didn’t have great defenders there. If I got to the rim I had a guard on me and there was an opportunity to get an offensive rebound,” Davis says.
As for the rest of the team, Lonnie Walker IV accompanied him excellently by contributing 25 points on 4-of-5 in triples. Austin Reaves also in double figures with 15 points and Russell Westbrook, who from the bench scored a double-double of 14 points and 12 assists.
31 for Durant
Kevin Durant was good with 31 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists, but he couldn’t stop defeating some Nets who had only lost in one of their previous five games. The forward admits that the Lakers were better. “We played sometimes tonight. It was a perfect storm for them. They converted shots and managed to get to the basket,” he says.
Along with KD were other players in double digits, highlighting the 15 points provided by Cam Thomas off the bench. The bad news of the night was interpreted by Nicolas Claxton, who had to leave the platform in the third quarter due to a contusion to his left eye.
(Photograph by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
