Los Angeles Lakers superstar Anthony Davis had an opportunity to redeem himself at the free throw line after missing one late that likely would have won the recent game against the Philadelphia 76ers. With the Lakers holding on to a two-point lead against the Boston Celtics, Davis stepped to the line with 28 seconds left and the chance to make it a two-possession game.
Unfortunately, Davis missed not one, but both free throws, and the Celtics’ Jayson Tatum would come down the court and tie the game with the Lakers ultimately falling by four points in overtime. Afterward, Davis was disappointed in himself for failing to come through in the clutch.
“I don’t know. I haven’t thought about the rest of the game,” a distraught Davis said. “If I make two free throws to go up four, it’s a different ballgame. To me, the rest doesn’t matter. I had to ice the game.”
Considering Davis played 46 minutes on the night and did not leave the floor in the second half, one might wonder if fatigue played a factor in those free throws, but Davis was having none of that.
“I was fine,” Davis added. “That’s not an excuse to miss free throws or anything. I could’ve asked to come out but I felt good. It’s on me.”
Davis has been the Lakers’ best player this season and was again the team’s best player on this night, finishing with 37 points and 12 rebounds. The Lakers’ improved play over the last month is directly tied to Davis playing like an MVP.
But with that comes the expectations to come through when it matters most. Davis will surely get over the free throws and there were other reasons for the Lakers losses to both the Celtics and Sixers, but he remains focused on where he came up short. “We’ve got two days, pretty sure I’ll be over it by then, but it’s just tough,” Davis added. “Boston is a great team, Philly is a great team. Two great teams in the East that we had a chance to beat as a team but me personally had a chance to kind of seal both games.
“Missed one in Philly and missed two tonight with both resulting in losses. I know there’s more to it in a game where you can point things out, the lead with four minutes and all that. We got to do a better job of executing in those situations playing with the lead late in games, but for me, you go back to the free throws in Philly to go up one, they had no timeouts and needed to go full court, and then tonight to go up four and make it a two possession game. That’s where my head is right now.”
The fact that Davis is so hard on himself is a good sign as it shows how much he cares and wants to succeed. This is a rough patch in what may be the best stretch of Davis’ career and the Lakers star will only work even harder to get past this and continuing to raise his level of play.
LeBron James not taking any moral victories in Lakers loss to the Celtics
Despite the amazing play of Davis and LeBron James, and fighting back from a 20-point deficit, the Lakers came up short in the end. The team showed fight and resilience, but LeBron himself was not in the mood for any moral victories.
“Nothing. That we lost,” he said when asked what this game said about the Lakers. “You are talking to the wrong guy talking about an almost-win. We lost.”
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