The Lakers decked up in their Black Mamba jerseys last night and took the Conference Finals lead a notch higher with 2-0 against the Nuggets. It was Anthony Davis who unleashed a power-packed performance of 31 points and a three-point buzzer-beater that made the victory even sweeter. LeBron James and Co. fought a ravishing battle out there towards the end of it.

It was a well-set game which began with the Lakers dominating every aspect of the court. But Nikola Jokic, who finished with 30 points in Game 2, converted it to a neck-to-neck contest by the last quarter. With 20 seconds of gameplay left, the Nuggets were 103-102 up with Jokic’s extensive skill set. However, Davis halted their win right there by knocking in a bucket from beyond the arc at the end time.

Davis was impressive with 31 points and 9 rebounds in the Lakers’ second win. While shooting an 11-of-23 from the field, AD granted an extended series-lead to his team. Moreover, LeBron James also added 26 points and 11 rebounds to this big day.

Most were overwhelmed by this close victory, but Davis talked at length in the post-game interview about his broader opportunities with the Lakers after moving out from New Orleans. Playing alongside LeBron James is a star-experience in itself that Davis has been enjoying as part of this team.

AD fetches bigger opportunities as part of the Lakers alongside LeBron James

Davis recognized LeBron as the ‘most criticized’ basketball star in the league. While LeBron is still ‘The King’, the 35-year-old has tasted some bitterness as well over the years. AD threw light on his partner’s unconditional worth during his time with the Lakers. He said:

“It’s for sure the biggest shot of my career. When I left (New Orleans), I just wanted to be able to compete for a championship. And I know that moments like this comes with it. Especially being in L.A., the biggest market in basketball. I know the quote, unquote, pressure is going to be on us, going to be on me, especially the first year with everything that happened last year. And then also playing alongside ‘Bron. I know he gets criticized more than any basketball player ever.”

LeBron’s support has been a major factor for AD and made things easier for him. This star duo sent many teams sprawling this season, and this is something AD respects. He said, “So just being able to play alongside him (LeBron), and he kind of helped me with all this quote, unquote, pressure, going out and playing. You guys saw that in Game 5 of the Rockets where he comes to me at the scorer’s table and talks to me when I was struggling. Just going out there and just playing basketball. He makes it a lot easier for me. Just being able to want this type of pressure, this type of spotlight, and go out and play in big games and make big-time plays and big-time shots for my team. It was definitely what I wanted.”