He has been criticised for it before. For going missing when it matters most. For not being the reliable running mate a now 39-year-old LeBron James needs.
But in the Los Angeles Lakers’ biggest game of the 2023-24 season so far, Anthony Davis went a long way to answering his sceptics.
The Lakers are the inaugural winners of the NBA’s in-season tournament, taking down a plucky Indiana Pacers team 123-109 on Sunday afternoon.
Could it be the springboard for a charge at the championship? That remains to be seen.
But this was definitely a step in the right direction for a team that only a fortnight ago were blown out by 44 points against the 76ers, prompting James to declare “a lot” needs to change.
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Davis played what Mike Breen described as a “masterpiece” on both ends in the win, finishing with 41 points, 20 rebounds, five assists and four blocks.
It was the Lakers big man’s work on the defensive end though that had former NBA coach Doc Rivers particularly impressed.
“It’s funny he’s going to have 30 points and I think he was more dominant on the other end,” Rivers said in commentary.
“He’s pitched a shutout defensively. It has been unbelievable.”
James, meanwhile, had 24 points and 11 rebounds while Austin Reaves was a spark plug off the bench with 28 points.
Tyrese Haliburton led the way for Indiana with 20 points and 11 assists but was made to work for every bucket against a testing Lakers defence.
In the end it was a dominant display inside the paint that got the job done for the Lakers, scoring 86 of their points in that area while making just two 3-pointers.
In what was a fast-paced opening to Sunday’s game both teams made their intentions cleary early as to how they wanted to play.
Both teams were picking up the pace and willing to push the ball in transition but while the Lakers repeatedly attacked the paint with James and Davis, the Pacers put a bigger emphasis on 3-point shooting early.
The result? The Lakers jumped out to a 15-12 lead after five minutes, outscoring Indiana 14-2 in the paint while the Pacers had three 3-pointers to zero for L.A.
The obvious question was whether Indiana would be able to maintain its efficient 3-point shooting to keep up with a Lakers team that was seemingly getting whatever they wanted on the inside.
The answer — at least for the remainder of the first quarter — was no, with the Pacers not making another 3-pointer as they were instead forced to find other ways to score.
An aggressive Davis in particular was causing all kinds of problems for the Pacers, finishing through contact to bring up double figures within the first eight minutes of the game.
In general, the Lakers were using their size and length across the board to disrupt Indiana’s offensive rhythm early in the game and found particular success throwing different looks at the tournament’s breakout star Haliburton.
The Lakers finished the first quarter on top 34-29, limiting Haliburton to just three points while scoring 26 of their 34 points inside the paint. James had 13 points and eight rebounds.
Tellingly, Haliburton had only taken three shots — unable to find any really good open looks against a persistent L.A. defence that forced Indiana to find plays elsewhere.
The Lakers only had four points from James after the first quarter but that wasn’t a product of the 39-year-old playing with any less force or purpose.
He simply wasn’t having to dominate in the same kind of way he had in past games, especially when you have teammates like Davis making plays.
James though was quick to stamp his authority on the game early in the second quarter as the Pacers threatened to regain the lead, scoring six quick points as he muscled through multiple defenders for the putback as Indiana was forced into a timeout trailing 44-38.
Later, Davis continued to dictate terms inside the paint as he added another four quick points to his tally while also making an impact on the defensive end with an emphatic block on Bruce Brown.
“This is as aggressive as I have seen Anthony Davis early in a game,” Rivers said.
Reaves, meanwhile, provided an immediate burst off the bench as he exploded for 22 points in just 13 minutes — coming up just one short of his season-high haul.
Despite all of that, a plucky Pacers unit was able to keep the game close right up until halftime, finishing the second quarter down only 65-60.
The Lakers still were yet to make a 3-pointer but didn’t need to having scored 52 points in the paint by the half.
The Pacers, meanwhile, had the advantage at the free throw line after making 21 of 22 attempts.
Isaiah Jackson deserved plenty of credit for that, backing up his 11-point effort against Milwaukee with a big impact on both ends in the first half of Sunday’s game.
Jackson, who was doing a solid job defending Davis, finished the half with six points to go with three rebounds and just as many blocks.
Things threatened to get away from the Pacers early in the third quarter though as Davis and James got off to a hot start, scoring all of the Lakers’ first nine points as L.A. went ahead by 74-63.
As had been the case for the entire game, Indiana was able to stay close enough to keep things interesting as Bennedict Mathurin made a 3-pointer just before the buzzer to reduce the Lakers’ lead to 90-82 heading into the final quarter.
Some big plays from Mathurin, T.J. McConnell and Obi Toppin then suddenly had the Pacers only trailing 92-89 early in the fourth, positioning Haliburton for his crowning moment.
Pacers get it done in Vegas | 00:52
The Lakers though continued to double Haliburton and force him to pass it up to teammates to make plays and that they did, with Myles Turner making a clutch 3-pointer just before the shot clock expired.
That came immediately after Davis blocked a McConnell layup, quickly giving it to James who found Cam Reddish for the dunk to put the Lakers ahead 102-96 at that point.
It could have easily been a turning point as the Lakers made a play on defence and converted it into points on the other end.
Instead, as they had all game, the Pacers refused to go away as the pace picked up once again.
But then, things flipped back in L.A.’s favour yet again as the Lakers went on a 13-0 run, powered by Davis’ heavy involvement on both ends.
It proved the knockout blow for a Pacers team that still has plenty to take out of a tournament where they took down Eastern Conference contenders Milwaukee and Boston on the way to the final.
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