Anthony Davis is aggressive and in top form just in time for the upcoming playoffs. With 42 points, the Big Man carried the Los Angeles Lakers to 123: 110 against the Phoenix Suns, in which an RPG player makes the best game of his career.
Los Angeles Lakers (38-30) – Phoenix Suns (48-20) 123:110 (BOXSCORE)
Davis hit 13 of his 27 field throws and was unstoppable by the Suns from the free-throw line, converting 15 of his 17 attempts. He collected 12 rebounds, distributed 5 assists and defended with 3 steals and blocks. His +26 plus / minus rating was the game’s top score.
He received support from Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (4/9 3P) and Alex Caruso (8 assists) with 17 points each, while Montrezl Harrell and Ben McLemore (4/7 three-pointers) each contributed 12 points from the bench. In addition to Dennis Schröder and LeBron James, the Lakers were also missing Kyle Kuzma and Markieff Morris.
The defense of the Suns was particularly vulnerable when Deandre Ayton (6, 6 rebounds) left the field and was replaced by Frank Kaminsky (9, 5 assists) or Dario Saric (4). The mostly big lineups of the Lakers punished Phoenix in these phases with drives and cuts into the zone as well as constant aggressiveness on the board in the form of Andre Drummond (7 of his 10 rebounds on the offensive board).
The best Sun was Cameron Payne, who in 20 minutes from the bank set a new career high of 24 points at 9/10 from the field and 4/5 from downtown and was the driver of the Sun’s attempted comeback. Chris Paul put on a double-double with 13 points (6/13 FG) and 10 assists, Devin Booker got 11 of his 21 points on the free throw line.
The Lakers are hot on the heels of the Trail Blazers, with just one win behind Portland and sixth in the Western Conference, which could avoid the play-in tournament.
Lakers fend off Suns comeback
The Lakers shot with a 20: 6 run from the starting blocks, in which Anthony Davis single-handedly played off the Suns with 10 points (5/7 FG). After the dominant first quarter of the Lakers (30:19), the Suns made the game more even in the second quarter (29:28), but could not significantly reduce the gap. Davis was already at 22 points (8/15 FG) at halftime.
LA was not distracted by the half-time break either, in the third quarter the Lakers sank eight threes and secured a +19 lead with an 8-0 run in the last minute of the section.
Then Jae Crowder (13) with three successful triples in a row and Payne both ran hot on the Sun’s side, causing the difference to drop to 10 points six minutes before the end. A few moments later, Davis landed awkwardly after a layup and grabbed his right calf. Davis limped a little while walking back, but after a short break he was walking smoothly again.
The Suns shortened to -7, but then stayed almost two minutes without any further points, which meant they ran out of time. Davis ended his great evening after two free throws with a cracking alley-oop-dunk plus foul.
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