The Los Angeles Lakers avenged a tough game one loss by blowing out the Portland Trail Blazers in game two. Nearly everyone had a bounce back game but Anthony Davis was particularly dominant in a nearly wire-to-wire win.
After the game, Davis credited LeBron James for encouraging him and keeping him “level-headed” after a poor shooting performance in game one:
On a question from @LoJoMedia, Anthony Davis describes how LeBron pulled him out of his Game 1 funk and how his postseason experience has guided him in their partnership. pic.twitter.com/KPH8zngihM
— Kyle Goon (@kylegoon) August 21, 2020
Here is the full transcript of Anthony Davis’s response to my question about his relationship with LeBron James #Lakeshow pic.twitter.com/G07ko3Qwp8
— Laurantine (@LoJoMedia) August 21, 2020
AD certainly looked like he was on a mission on Thursday and the Lakers helped him by getting him the ball in more advantageous situations. He largely didn’t settle for jumpers and was more calm and collected around the rim. The big man ended the game with 31 points, 11 rebounds and three assists and made 13 of his 21 field goal attempts including three of four 3-pointers.
The Lakers talked a lot about not being concerned after the game one loss, mostly blaming it on an off shooting night. While their shooting coming around was a major factor in them turning it around in game two, Davis’ performance early on in getting out in front in transition and abusing Blazers bigs down low was a key catalyst in getting to that moment. In particular, Davis’ minutes at center leaving the paint open for him to operate were dominant, including the key run to end the first half that blew the game wide open.
The Lakers will hope to get a similar performance from their star big man in game three to put the pressure back on the eighth seeded Blazers and hopefully end the series early.
