Anthony Davis powered the LA Lakers to close their series against the Portland Trailblazers. He led the team alongside LeBron James in their 131-122 game five win over Portland. Davis missed just four shots all game, racking up a 43 point night. He played the most minutes he has in a while, staying on the court for 36 minutes in this series clincher.
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Davis has shown inconsistency in hitting big shots in important games. Just in the bubble, AD has had games where he had a monster first-half and went on to not contribute in the second. This was seen against Portland in the first game. However, AD proved himself capable with his performance tonight. He scored multiple important fourth-quarter points to help the Lakers extend their lead over the dangerous Blazers.
Anthony Davis made history with his performance. He became the first man since Dirk Nowitzki to have a 40-point night on 75%+ shooting in a playoff game. Nowitzki achieved the same in the 2011 Western Conference Finals against the young Oklahoma City Thunder. Dallas went on to upset LeBron James and the Miami Heat to win the title that year. AD didn’t even enter the league until 2012.
AD tonight:
43 PTS
9 REB
14-18 FG
4-6 3PHe's the first player to drop 40+ points in a playoff game on 75%+ shooting since Dirk Nowitzki in 2011. pic.twitter.com/TNAb85Lf2T
— StatMuse (@statmuse) August 30, 2020
Anthony Davis continuing this form?
Anthony Davis will pray that he has more nights like this on a consistent basis. While the Blazers were a threat, they weren’t nearly as dangerous as some of the teams the Lakers have to face later in the playoffs. The likely second-round match for the Lakers is against the Houston Rockets, who are 3-2 up in their series.
AD should have a good time on the small Rockets, but this team has fallen to Houston before. One of the first big victims of small-ball were the Lakers in February. Their defense is looking promising, but the Rockets are almost unstoppable if they are in a groove. With James Harden making shots more efficiently, the Lakers will rely on AD’s post presence to defeat Houston.
Davis does have LeBron James with him. James had a 36-point triple-double tonight, perfectly complementing Anthony Davis. In fact, he was just one shot away from joining AD on this unique achievement. The perfect duo, after all.
