The Los Angeles Lakers find themselves in a familiar position after yet another frustrating loss to the Denver Nuggets on Monday night. Game 2 saw an incredible performance from Anthony Davis, a 20-point lead for the Lakers and a double-digit advantage entering the fourth quarter. And still, the Nuggets found their way back to steal a victory and take a 2-0 series lead.
Davis finished with 32 points and 11 rebounds on 14-for-19 from the field, but the game followed an increasingly upsetting game script that has become the norm when the Lakers face the Nuggets. L.A. gets out to an early lead, remains competitive for a majority of the game, only for the offense to stall in the final minutes and the Nuggets grab the win.
So as Davis looks ahead to Game 3 on Thursday in L.A., he knows that the team needs to lean on the success they’ve had within the first two games. With that being said though, he admitted that there are points in the game where the team doesn’t know what they’re doing.
“Just got to focus on Game 3. We’ve shown that we’re more than capable. We’ve also had stretches where we don’t know what we’re doing on both ends of the floor. And those are the ones that cost us. We got two days to get it right and be ready to win Game 3 on Thursday.”
That’s a strong statement by Davis considering the Lakers are 86 games into their season. But when it comes to the team’s mental state after such a tough loss, Davis did not mince words about what L.A. needs to accomplish now.
“Win Game 3. It’s that simple. Win Game 3,” Davis said.
The Lakers were down 2-0 after two close losses in last year’s Western Conference Finals, and while they remained competitive in Games 3 and 4, they simply didn’t have enough in the tank to beat the Nuggets. Monday’s loss marked the 10th consecutive to Denver dating back to early 2023.
But down 2-0 heading back home is a place where many teams have been before and have at least turned things around to make a competitive series. It starts with winning one game at a time, and an all-important Game 3 on Thursday is the beginning.
Anthony Davis doesn’t understand not being DPOY finalist
The NBA recently announced the finalists for regular season awards and somehow Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis did not make the cut for Defensive Player of the Year.
The three finalists for that award ended up being Rudy Gobert of the Minnesota Timberwolves, Bam Adebayo of the Miami Heat and Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs.
Despite being one of the best defenders of his generation, Davis has not won a Defensive Player of the Year award. Davis played 76 games this season and helped lead the Lakers back to the playoffs with one of the best campaigns of his career.
After learning that he was not named a Defensive Player of the Year finalists, Davis was understandably upset, not understanding why he isn’t being recognized.
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