Apr 14, 2024, 11:15 p.m. ET
Anthony Davis finished the game against the Pelicans with treatment on his back, but assured that he will be for the play-in.
NEW ORLEANS — The regular season ended for the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday with Anthony Davis in the locker room receiving treatment for back spasms after being pushed while in the air late in Los Angeles’ 124-108 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans.
Anthony Davis finished the game against the Pelicans with treatment on his back, but assured that he will be for the play-in. Layne Murdoch Jr./NBAE via Getty Images
Davis promised he will be back on the court Tuesday when the postseason begins for the Lakers, who clinched the eighth seed and a spot in the Western Conference play-in tournament, a rematch with the seventh-place Pelicans. A spot in the first round against the defending champion and second-seeded Denver Nuggets is at stake.
“There’s no doubt I’m going to play,” Davis said after scoring 30 points on 13-of-17 shooting, 11 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals in 33 minutes.
The Lakers big man, who missed most of last week’s two losses to the Minnesota Timberwolves and Golden State Warriors after taking a hit to the face in the Minnesota game, was dominant until 5:52 left. by the end of the fourth quarter on Sunday. That’s when Pelicans forward Larry Nance Jr. shoved Davis in the back as he tried to grab the offensive rebound after Lakers guard Gabe Vincent missed a layup.
Davis said the contact resulted in “hyperextension” when he landed, adding that his “back just locked up.”
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He felt offended by Nance’s actions.
“It was up in the air,” Davis said. “Obviously it’s a dangerous play. I know he’s not a dirty player.”
Davis said he would have pushed himself to keep playing if it was a close game in a must-win situation. When he came out with 5:22 left, limping to the sideline before receiving treatment from his athletic trainer, Jon Ishop, Los Angeles led by 21. The Lakers won by 16.
Davis said he plans to try heating pads that he could wear under his shirt to keep his back loose on Tuesday.
Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers. Tyler Kaufman/Getty Images
As good as Davis was before the setback, Lakers star LeBron James could have been even better.
James recorded his fifth triple-double of the season, finishing with 28 points, 17 assists, 11 rebounds and 5 steals.
James had 13 first-half assists, the most he has ever had in a half in 1,492 career games over 21 years in the NBA.
“I just read the game and was looking for my teammates and trying to get the ball on time and on target, whether it was jumpers or guys at the rim,” James said. “I just tried to be very efficient with my game.”
He was also the primary defender of the Pelicans’ hard-hitting Zion Williamson, helping limit the explosive forward to just 12 points on 4-of-13 shooting. Williamson committed four turnovers.
“He’s a beast,” James admitted. “I mean, he’s almost impossible to stop, so I tried to keep my body on him and be tough on him. He’s a great player, man.”
The Lakers came into the day with several possible playoff scenarios, but thanks to a Phoenix Suns win over the Timberwolves, combined with the win over the Pelicans, they clinched the No. 8 seed and another road game in New Orleans on Tuesday.
All this without having to get on a plane and fly to another city.
“Tuesday’s game is going to be extremely tough, extremely difficult, extremely physical,” James said. “I always knew that when you play a playoff series, and I look at it as a two-game playoff series, if you win the first game, a team has several days to feel that feeling or sit with that taste in their mouth of defeat. “So they will be extremely prepared for us and we have to come with the same sense of urgency that we had in the previous game.”
The numbers back up James. Not counting the NBA bubble in 2020, when all games were played at a neutral location, only 19 of the 342 first-round series in league history began with the road team winning 2-0, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
Los Angeles is now 3-1 on the season against New Orleans, including two high-leverage situations in the season tournament semifinals and Sunday’s game, when the Pelicans had a chance to avoid the play-in tournament by clinching the No. 6 seed and a spot in the first round against Minnesota with a win.
“Just lean on what we did well,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said of his team’s approach for Tuesday. “Understanding that they can make adjustments in terms of their matchups. And just having a plan, a backup plan and an escape plan once we see what their response is to what we’ve done tonight.
“And so, the game of chess has begun. And we are all for it.”
2024-04-15 03:15:00
#doubt #start #playin
