Anthony Davis and the Los Angeles Lakers continued to roll as they soundly defeated the Atlanta Hawks 122-101 to move to an NBA-best 11-2.
The Lakers had one of their best starts to a game during the 2019-20 NBA season as they were able to turn the Hawks over several times and capitalize on some easy transition opportunities that helped them go up 25 points. They never looked back as they led from start to finish and looked impressive doing so on both ends of the court.
LeBron James had himself another great outing as he finished with 33 points and 12 assists while Kyle Kuzma continued his hot shooting, scoring 17 points and going 3-of-6 from the three-point line.
Davis once again had another ho-hum game given his relative lack of involvement on the offensive end but he did not seem concerned about it when talking about his performance.
“Hey man, we’re winning. I don’t really care about any of that. We’re going to find ways to get the ball, I’m gonna find ways to make sure I get a shot, but when it’s in the flow,” Davis said.
“How we’re playing in the first half, we know we were running and getting a lot of fastbreak points and guys getting open shots. Finding guys when I do get the ball, I just try to play the right way. And as a result of that, we were able to get up big in the first half. I’m not worried about shots, I’m worried about wins.”
Davis has seemingly been less involved since returning from his one-game absence and the injuries could be a reason why he has taken fewer shots. However, he did still finish with the second-most shot attempts on the team against the Hawks, hitting 5-of-14 attempts and finishing the game with 14 points.
Despite the lack of offensive production, Davis made most of his impact on the defensive end as he terrorized Atlanta at the rim and blocked five shots. He also contested several shots at the rim which allowed Los Angeles to rebound the ball and get into their sets.
When James is hot from the field like he was against the Hawks, the Lakers can afford a bad shooting night from Davis, especially with how he has played on the defensive end.
The All-Star duo has been as good as advertised and they will continue to play the biggest parts in the team’s success as the season rolls on.
