Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis said he would be better in Game 3 after his quiet Game 2 against the Denver Nuggets and he held up his end of the bargain.
Davis put up 28 points and 18 rebounds in Game 3, but unfortunately it wasn’t enough as the Lakers fell to the Nuggets. Los Angeles is now on the brink of elimination as they face a 3-0 deficit, a situation no team has ever been able to overcome.
While Davis understands the Lakers’ precarious situation, he said the focus needs to be handling Game 4 and going from there.
“Take it one game at a time. You know, come Monday, leave it out on the floor, and try to get a win. Take it to Game 5, Game 6, Game 7. That’s all you can really do.
“Go back tomorrow — we’ll go tomorrow and look at the film and see where we can get better, especially late game both ends of the floor, and then get ready to line them up on Monday and try to keep the season alive.”
The star big man added that he and the roster still believe they can come back despite the odds being stacked against them.
“Yeah, for sure. We never, you know — we never intend to pack it in,” Davis said. “Obviously as you see throughout the course of this season, we have always been a team to fight. We are resilient. Everyone keep fighting till it’s over. It’s not over. They have to win another game.
“Like I say, our job is to take it one game at a time and focus on Monday.”
This Lakers groups has certainly been resilient when it comes to adversity, but even the most optimistic fan has to feel like the season is over. Hopefully Davis and the rest of the team have a better showing in Game 4 and build some positive momentum.
Anthony Davis discusses physical and mental toll to get to Western Conference Finals
Los Angeles had to put their foot on the gas pedal right after the trade deadline to make the playoffs, but Davis seemed to downplay the extra effort required to get to where they are now after having just a 0.3% chance of making the postseason at one point.
“I think everyone in that locker room looked at it as obviously a challenge but quote, unquote, ‘we’ve done it before.’ Like you said, 2-10, 13th place, climbing uphill basically all season to get to this point, and it’s the same thing here.
“Obviously it’s a steeper climb being down 0-3. But we are going to keep taking it one game at a time and try to get better and come out with a win on Monday.”
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