In what was a golden opportunity to move up in the standings, the Los Angeles Lakers failed to take advantage on Friday night, losing in devastating fashion to the Dallas Mavericks after some late-game miscues from Anthony Davis.
Overall, Davis had another strong game for L.A. with 26 points, 10 rebounds and three assists. With the team leading by four in the final minute though, he fouled Maxi Kleber on a 3-point attempt.
After Kleber nailed all three free throws, Davis was fouled and sent to the line himself, where he missed one of two. The Lakers as a whole missed 12 free throws on the night, allowing Dallas a chance at a buzzer-beater.
Again, it was Kleber that came through with a last-second shot after receiving a pass from Kyrie Irving. And again, it was Davis with a miscue as he left Kleber wide open, drifting towards the basket when a 3-pointer is the only way they could’ve lost the game.
When asked about his message to the team after the loss, Davis said he shouldered the blame.
“I already came in and told them the last play was my fault, but like I said, watch the game tonight, watch the film tomorrow, shoot some free throws. There’s nothing we can do about it, to be honest. It happened. Our focus is on Sunday and trying to get a win against Orlando. But this one is tough, just the way it ended. And I think with other teams’ losses, with a win we would’ve been in seventh. So it’s just tough all across the board.”
On a night where the New Orleans Pelicans, Golden State Warriors, Portland Trail Blazers and Minnesota Timberwolves all lost, the Lakers could have made some serious ground in a tight Western Conference playoff race.
Davis understands how costly the loss was, but also urged that they must move on and focus on Sunday’s game against the Orlando Magic.
“We’ll go back and watch the film and see how we can get better for Sunday,” Davis said. “But we fought hard to get back into the game. That was a tough one. Especially when everyone else is losing. You’ve got to be able to win basketball games, whether it’s at the free throw line, myself, or making the right reads defensively. It’s a tough one. We got to look at it tomorrow and get ready for Sunday, another must-win.”
Davis frustrated with Lakers’ inability to capitalize
A win over the Mavericks would have put the Lakers in a tie for sixth place in the Western Conference, which would be avoiding the Play-In Tournament.
Instead, the Lakers are tied for 10th and in danger of missing the Play-In Tournament altogether. which Davis was frustrated about.
“We’ve had some opportunities, for sure. It’s frustrating. We’re still in a position to do something special after the way we started. We just got to, like I said, talk about it tomorrow and see how we can get better for Sunday and win the next four at home before we go to Chicago.”
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