Coming off a disappointing loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Los Angeles Lakers bounced back in a huge way by holding on to beat the Golden State Warriors on Sunday afternoon.
The Warriors entered the afternoon on a five-game winning streak and got back reigning NBA Finals MVP Stephen Curry, who had missed their previous 11 games due to a leg injury. Despite the adverse circumstances, the Lakers played perhaps one of their best and most balanced games of the 2022-23 season as they received contributions from nearly everyone on the roster.
Anthony Davis was the star of the game for either team, leading all scorers with 39 points to go along with eight rebounds, six assists and two blocked shots. Davis has continued to look more and more like his dominant self but he credited his teammates for helping him carry the load en route to an impressive victory over Golden State.
“We know who we are. We all felt like we let one go against Minnesota on Friday,” Davis said. “We had some good film on ways we can be better. We know this is an elite third-quarter team. Defending champions are going to make a run, they’re going to make plays, make shots. Between Steph [Curry], Klay [Thompson] and Jordan Poole they’re elite shooters. I think we locked in defensively. They got away a couple times, but we just continued to compete.”
The Lakers looked like they were going to cruise to a win in the final minutes, but the Warriors were able to erase an eight-point lead in a flash after a pair of threes. Davis admitted that no team can relax against Golden State and that he needed to help his team out by doing a little bit of everything, although his teammates helped him out as well.
“I’ve been doing it my whole career. Even in New Orleans. Coming here, just doing whatever the team needs. Obviously, with LeBron [James] out, the team is going to rely on me more to make plays for myself and others. Other guys are stepping up and playing well. Making shots and defending. So it’s a team effort. I think we did a good job on both ends of the floor tonight. Like I said, that’s a team whose seen every coverage. Seen a lot of shots go in over the years. They’ve been together for a while. Championship experience. So that was a big win for us.”
Since the trade deadline, the purple and gold have looked like an entirely different team. Prior to the moves they made, there was no way they would’ve been able to win a game like they did against the Warriors but this new iteration of the team has proven they can hang with anyone in the league.
Stacking wins is of the utmost importance at this juncture of the season, especially now that the Lakers only find themselves half a game back of the final Play-In Tournament spot. Davis will be without his co-star LeBron James for at least a couple more weeks and it’ll be up to him and the rest of the team to carry the load until he returns.
Darvin Ham acknowledges guys need to step up with LeBron James out
While Davis led the way in the win over the Warriors, he had some help as Austin Reaves, Jarred Vanderbilt and Dennis Schroder all had great games to get them over the hump. They’re performances are a prime example of what Darvin Ham previously said about guys knowing they need to step up while James is out.
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