The three-game road trip sweep seemed to do the Los Angeles Lakers offense some good as they put up another high-scoring outing and beat the Minnesota Timberwolves, 142-125.
Both teams shot well from the field throughout the entire game, converting on open jumpers and getting into the lane but the Lakers were able to clamp down in stretches during the second half to help them come away with the win.
Anthony Davis was the story of the night as he dropped a season-high 50 points on 20-of-29 shooting, an impressive feat when one considers he did it without any assistance from the three-point line.
In his walk-off interview, Davis discussed how he was able to hit the half-century mark, via Spectrum SportsNet:
“Just being aggressive. Just came out aggressive, playing hard. My teammates did a good job of finding me and just staying in a rhythm, just staying hot. They’re a good team, a team who can shoot. They obviously got Karl-Anthony Towns who’s a hell of a player… Jeff Teague, Rob Covington, they got a lot of great players. For us to keep this thing going… Coach talked about it… let’s not… we don’t need a loss to learn and I just wanted to come out, be aggressive, and do what I can to help the team win.”
The Timberwolves had zero answers for Davis in the paint as he was able to post up their centers with ease while also beating them down the floor in transition for easy buckets. His size and length also forced Minnesota to foul him on several occasions where he managed to hit all 10 of his free throw attempts.
Davis’ scoring output has been on the rise of as late thanks to him finding his offensive rhythm but head coach Frank Vogel and his coaching staff should also get some credit as they have found ways to get him the ball in more advantageous situations. Earlier in the 2019-20 NBA season, they would simply let Davis catch the ball out in the midrange area and allow him to go one-on-one, but lately they have tried to get him the ball on the move or deeper in the post.
The 26-year-old’s dominance on both ends should be generating more MVP buzz but for now, Davis and the rest of the purple and gold will happily rack up wins as they continue to grow together on the court. Their upcoming five-game road trip is another good opportunity for them to prove they are indeed legitimate championship contenders.