The last time the Los Angeles Lakers played the San Antonio Spurs, Anthony Davis was completely dominant offensive with 40 points and 12 rebounds in a Lakers win. This time, the Spurs switched up how they defended the Lakers’ superstar, so Davis adjusted and controlled the game in a different way.
Davis finished with 19 points, 14 rebounds and a season-high seven assists as the Lakers again defeated the Spurs to end their three-game losing streak. As a team, the Lakers had 31 assists with LeBron James posting a team-high 11 as he recorded his sixth triple-double of the season. But head coach JJ Redick felt it was Davis who set the tone with his passing.
Redick spoke on this after the game, saying how the Spurs were sending multiple defenders at him from the outset allowing Davis to pick them apart with his playmaking, via Spectrum SportsNet:
“Really with our passing, I thought it started with AD. He had 39 here the last time we played so they were sending bodies to him and we tried to get him the ball early in his spots to score and he was picking them apart. He just was a facilitator. Look, I’ve only coached him 18 games now and the 19 points or whatever he ended up with is not gonna jump off the page, but he was a monster tonight and he does it every night. He does everything that it takes to win every single night.”
It speaks to Davis’ versatility that he is able to dominate a game in so many ways. Often it is with his scoring or defensive efforts, but on this night his passing got everyone going and allowed the Lakers to get a much-needed victory.
Davis also spoke on his passing, noting how the Spurs played him differently than the previous game and crediting his teammates for knocking down shots, via Spectrum SportsNet:
“They were doubling off the passer. As soon as I caught it, there were two in my lap so just making the right reads and getting off the basketball, hitting the guys that were open. Credit to these guys for making shots. They played me a lot differently, they didn’t play me one-on-one like they did the other time when we were here and I was just trying to make the right reads.”
Davis has been the catalyst all season long for the Lakers, doing everything in his power every single night to carry them to victories. He has so many elements to his game and the Spurs found out that trying to make him into a facilitator comes with its own set of problems.
Anthony Davis happy with Lakers’ bounce back performance vs. Spurs
For Anthony Davis, the most important thing is always the Lakers winning and the team needed a bounce back performance after three straight losses.
The Lakers superstar spoke about being pleased with the team’s performance, noting how it’s always frustrating to lose, but it’s more important how a team responds. Davis added that he felt the Lakers executed well on both ends of the court and had an answer any time the Spurs made a run.
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