The Los Angeles Lakers got a statement on Friday, beating the Milwaukee Bucks 133-129 after another spectacular performance from Anthony Davis.
Davis went up against Giannis Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez on Friday. But despite the difficult matchup, he still ended up with 44 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, and three blocks. Over the last three weeks, Davis is averaging 32.9 points, 15.4 rebounds, 1.4 steals, and 2.9 blocks, entering the MVP award conversation.
Lakers head coach Darvin Ham liked the aggressiveness from the 29-year-old in the win over the Bucks — as well as the support he received from his teammates, via Spectrum SportsNet:
Just relentlessness. You know, just staying with it, staying competitive, staying hungry. Just not giving up, not settling. And just taking what the defense gave him. We were putting a lot of pressure on the rim. That definitely helped us being able to get to the free throw line. I told him, ‘Man, we got to ride you a lot.’ And he’s ‘Oh man. Come on. I got your back, Coach.’ And so he was there for us tonight once again. And you know, Bron had his moments, Ross had his moments. Lonnie had his moments. Austin made some plays. So it’s just — it was awesome, man. It was just really awesome to see everybody just coming together and competing at that level against that team.
The Lakers had an unbelievably efficient night on Friday, shooting 53.6% from the field and 42.3 for 3. What’s more, they turned the ball over just four times — registering less than five turnovers in a game for the first time since March 2019.
L.A. has only had 12 games with less than five turnovers since 1983-84, when those numbers were first collected.
LeBron James reflects on passing Magic Johnson For No. 6 on all-time assist list
Fittingly, LeBron James passed Magic Johnson in sixth on the all-time assist list during the statement win over the Bucks, ending the game with 10,111 career dimes.
After the game, James discussed the “honor” of overtaking the Lakers icon among the best passers in the NBA’s history. “It’s very humbling to be linked with any of the greats, but it’s even more of a humbling feeling when you’re actually wearing the same uniform that a guy wore,” he said.
“Magic has been everything to this franchise since the moment he was drafted and it’s an honor for me to carry on his legacy while I play this game.”
