That night the Los Angeles Lakers played their very first home playoff game since 2013, where their last postseason success was in 2012. For this comeback, LeBron James and Anthony Davis showed the way, and the reigning champions finally showed a very encouraging face. If it was complicated in the first half and they were hooked by the Suns, they put the accelerator back in the locker room.
It was above all the King who set the tone with a dunk, a jump shot, then a service for a dunk from Anthony Davis, pushing the Suns to take a time out after just 93 seconds.
“I wasn’t reading the game the way I would have liked to do in the first half. In the locker room I made a few adjustments and I felt it would work for the team, and we were able to throw a run in Act 3. ” Lebron james
“He changed the whole game. His state of mind totally changed the course of the game tonight.” Frank Vogel
James (21 points at 9/19 including 1/5 away, 6 rebounds and 9 assists) was aggressive, scoring on 5 of his 7 drives, he who had only drifted twice for a basket during the two first games, totally unusual on his part. A sign that things are getting better and better physically?
“It’s obvious it’s been a tough year for me physically, with my ankle, and I’m still trying to get it back to where it was before the injury. Every day is a step forward and I will continue to work, to do my treatment 24 hours a day, to get back to where it was. ” Lebron james
Speaking of physics and injury, Anthony Davis scared his people. On a chase-down block on Devin Booker, he made a small hyperextension of the left knee. He continued, but seemed embarrassed, limping.
“These are the playoffs. It’s rare that I go out. I landed weird, I tried not to run into Book. Maybe there was a little hyperextension. ” Anthony davis
Ultimately he stayed in the game and was the man of the game with 34 points at 11/22, 11 rebounds.
“We needed it. We needed him to stay on the pitch to get this victory. He was going to do whatever it took for us to get this victory, including playing through the pain. You could see he was limping. We talked to the medical staff, like, ‘Maybe he needs to be taken out.’ But they said it was good, it was safe, you just had to get over the pain. It’s a tough performance from AD. ” Frank Vogel
The Lakers put on a show in the last quarter and took a 21-point lead. There was in particular this action of the King which raised the bench and the 7,825 fans.
????pic.twitter.com/PWKHEKodUR
— Basket-Infos (@Basket_Infos) May 28, 2021
“We always try to do actions that can excite each other, where we can involve and excite our fans. Because it brings a lot of excitement. Actions can shift the momentum in our favor. It was one of those times when we had the opportunity to do something that would give us a boost and we were able to do it. ” Lebron james
For once, behind Phoenix made a run, but the Californians did not panic and held on quietly until the end.
Via ESPN
.
