In what turned out to be a chippy game, the Los Angeles Lakers ultimately prevailed and won Game 3 against the Phoenix Suns to take a 2-1 series lead.
Anthony Davis had another strong showing, leading the Lakers in scoring with 34 points to go along with 11 rebounds. He had to fight through a leg injury but was able to remain effective and help Los Angeles pull away in the second half.
It was an electric night for the Lakers as it was the team’s first time playing a postseason game in front of their home crowd and Davis credited them for giving them a boost when they needed it. He also mentioned that it is something they hope to take advantage of when they take the floor for Game 4 on Sunday.
“Staples Center was exactly what it needed to be,” Davis said. “Once it gets to full capacity, it’ll be even louder, but that’s what we wanted. We fed off the crowd tonight, especially during our runs. The crowd was loud and it gave us some extra energy to make shots and make some big plays defensively and ultimately win the game.
“We’re definitely going to need it Game 4 being an early game and some of us might still be a little asleep. It’s not the normal routine, so I know they’re going to come in full effect.”
Davis added that he is hopeful the capacity will grow as the playoffs go on.
“Like I said, it felt great to play in front of fans. … It was good for us, it was good for our team and we can only imagine how it would be with 20,000 in here. I think we have 7,500 or something like that. It was still loud, still electric.
“So when we’re able to get a whole stadium in here and all the fans are here screaming and yelling, I know it’s going to be even better. But we still got that electric crowd that we needed to get this win.”
The Suns did not have an answer for Davis, who routinely got loose for dunks and drew contact to earn trips to the free-throw line. The forward hit 12-of-14 of his attempts from the charity stripe, with most of them coming at a time when Phoenix looked to get back into the game.
Game 4 is surely going to be a thrilling one as Phoenix will come out swinging in order to avoid going down 3-1. However, if Davis can dominate on both ends like Lakers fans are used to seeing then the team should be in good shape.
Anthony Davis discusses playing through injury
Every game there seems to be a moment where Davis gets banged up and it was no different in Game 3 when it looked like he hurt his left landing after landing. However, Davis downplayed the incident and did not seem concerned about it going forward.
“It’s the playoffs. It’s rare that I’m going to come out of a game. We got two days in between, so I can get it looked at and checked out. Landed awkwardly. Tried not to fall on Book and I guess it might’ve hyperextended a little bit, but just keeping it warm and keeping it loose and just wanted to keep going. But it felt fine throughout the rest of the game. I really didn’t have any problems with it. … Let’s see how I feel tomorrow. Get some treatment and treatment Saturday and be ready to Sunday.”
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