After losing 11 straight games to the Denver Nuggets, the Los Angeles Lakers were finally able to come out on top against Nikola Jokic and company on Saturday night. Anthony Davis and his squad got the 11-point win, which gave the team a chance to stay alive in the NBA playoffs for a bit longer.
As usual, Davis was pivotal to the team’s success on the basketball court. He finished with 25 points, 23 rebounds, and five assists, dominating the game on both ends.
After the game, Davis spoke to the media about what it’s like to finally get the best of Denver after so many consecutive losses against the defending NBA champions.
“You kind of get that monkey off your back,” Davis said. “But I just think the difference in the first three games, and actually, all the games that we have lost to them in a row and tonight, is that we just scored. We scored in the second half: 30 in the third and 28 in the fourth. Usually, we’re in the low 20s or even high teens and they’re scoring big. So a team like that, they’re gonna continue to score, and we just have to continue to score as well. I think that was the difference tonight.”
Obviously, no one wants to get swept in a playoff series, and the Lakers especially didn’t want to get swept after the Nuggets did it to them last year in the Western Conference Finals. That said, there was some added motivation to get the win on Saturday, even though Davis admits the team didn’t talk about it before Game 4.
“Not directly,” Davis said. “I just think it was a feeling in the room starting with yesterday’s film session. It sucks to get swept. Nobody wants that feeling, especially going into the summer. You’ve got to live with that feeling for the rest of the summer. So we didn’t really talk about it. Not just me and Bron, but the entire team. We know what’s at stake. Nobody wants that feeling in your mouth for the rest of the summer. The way we played tonight is the way we have to play the rest of the series. Sense of desperation and coming out with a sense of urgency.”
With the Lakers getting a win against the Nuggets, the series will now shift back to Denver for Game 5, where it will be another win-or-go-home situation for Los Angeles in a very tough place to win.
If the Lakers can come out on top on Monday in Denver, they’ll travel back to Los Angeles for Game 6 on Thursday for another must-win situation at Crypto.com Arena.
Anthony Davis joins Shaquille O’Neal & Wilt Chamberlain in Lakers playoff history
The Los Angeles Lakers were finally able to get the best of the Denver Nuggets on Saturday night to make it a series, with Anthony Davis finishing 25 points, 23 rebounds and five assists, which matches Shaquille O’Neal and Wilt Chamberlain as the only Lakers players to do that in a playoff game.
With Davis playing some elite basketball, he’s bound to continue making history while sporting the Purple and Gold as long as he can stay healthy.
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