SAN FRANCISCO – Turns out, trying to contain LeBron James might not be the biggest challenge the Golden State Warriors face in their second-round playoff series with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Anthony Davis had a playoff game for the ages Tuesday, etching his name alongside some of the storied franchise’s all-time greats, as he had 30 points, 23 rebounds and five assists to lead the Lakers to a 117-112 win over the Warriors in Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinal at Chase Center.
“For us, it’s a treat for us to be able to have such a dynamic player that can not only go out and get you 30 and 20,” James said, “but also command the paint defensively.”
Davis did just in the final two minutes in the game’s most crucial sequence.
After the Warriors went on a 14-0 run over a four-plus minute span to tie the game at 112 with 1:38 to go, guard D’Angelo Russell responded with a driving layup to give the Lakers back the lead. Then on the Warriors’ ensuing possession, Davis blocked a short Curry shot in the paint with 1:08 left in regulation to keep Los Angeles in front.
About 30 seconds later with Los Angeles leading 115-112, Davis affected Jordan Poole’s errant driving floating layup, then collected the rebound to preserve the lead.
Golden State didn’t score again as the Lakers took away home-court advantage with Game 2 in San Francisco on Thursday.
“Just his ability to change shots, block shots, and then still gather the rebounds, that’s rare company guy for a guy who able to do that,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. “So I told him before the game to dominate on both sides of the ball, and he’s been doing that.”
Before the game, Warriors coach Steve Kerr cautioned against trying to make those types of shots against this Lakers team and a player like Davis who protects the rim so well.
“So hopefully we’re not dribbling in and trying to score layups over the top of A.D. in the first five minutes in the game,” Kerr said pregame. “But if we are then let’s learn our lesson quickly.”
With his performance Tuesday, Davis joined Shaquille O’Neal, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Elgin Baylor and Wilt Chamberlain as the only players in Lakers history to have at least 30 points and 20 rebounds in a playoff game.
O’Neal was the last Laker to enjoy those numbers, as he had 36 points and 20 rebounds in Game 4 of the 2004 NBA Finals against the Detroit Pistons. Remarkably, L.A. still lost that game 88-80.
“The Lakers franchise over the course of their existence has always had dominant big men, dominant guys that have been a force at the rim, and that’s why their jerseys are in the rafters,” said James, who finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds – numbers the Warriors could probably live with if Davis hadn’t had such an impressive night.
“A.D.’s will be up there when he’s done playing, and the No. 3 will be up in the rafters. He continues to show why he’s one of the best players that we have in this league.”
Davis expects the Warriors to make some adjustments for Thursday’s game, with Golden State potentially putting Draymond Green on him right from the start, instead of Kevon Looney.
“It’s going to be a different game,” Davis said. “Obviously, we’re going to make adjustments, they’re going to make adjustments. The building will probably be a little bit louder. They don’t want to go down 0-2,” Davis said.
“But I’m going to continue to be aggressive. I know LeBron’s going to continue to be aggressive. I know Draymond likes to help. If they do decide to put him on me, I’ve got to figure out ways I can be effective with him doing his thing defensively.”
Davis is coming off a six-game series against the Memphis Grizzlies in which he averaged 20.8 points and 13.7 rebounds and just over 36 minutes per game.
Davis, though, played 44 minutes against the Warriors, including the entire second half. That’s the most minutes he’s played in any playoff game since Game 5 of the Warriors-New Orleans Pelicans second-round series in 2018, which Golden State won to close out that series.
Ham received a bit of criticism when Davis sat out a March 15 game against the Houston Rockets. The Lakers needed every win as they fought for their postseason lives, but lost to the last-place Rockets 114-110. Davis, officially, was still recuperating from the right foot injury that sidelined him from Dec. 18 to Jan. 24.
Ham, though, proved his point Tuesday by riding Davis to the finish line.
“This is what load management is about — if there’s going to be load management, then we have to manage their load throughout the regular season in order for us to push them a little further during this time of year,” Ham said. “The postseason, everything is at its peak. You got to pare down your rotation and push the big dogs. The big dogs have got to be there early and often.
“We just made a conscious decision, communicated on the sideline and we were able to push him on through and allow him to play the full half.”
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