The Los Angeles Lakers were motivated to bounce back against the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday after their winning streak was snapped on Friday against the Indiana Pacers. And they succeeded in doing so, as the Lakers easily won by 12 points behind a defensive masterwork anchored by Anthony Davis.
The Lakers got out ahead 17-0 to start the game and led 31-11 at the end of the first quarter. Overall, they held the Nets to just 42.4% shooting for the game and an abysmal 19% shooting in the first quarter, which is exactly what Davis and the Lakers wanted to do.
After the victory, Davis said that after a lackluster defensive effort against the Pacers, the Lakers wanted to set the tone in Brooklyn, via Spectrum SportsNet:
“Just getting over our matchup with Indiana. We simply wanted to come out and set the tone defensively since we didn’t play very well on defense, even though we obviously knew this squad had a lot of offensive threats. In the first quarter, we carried that out.
The Nets battled back in the second and third quarters to give themselves a shot, but things weren’t always simple for the Lakers. However, the Lakers’ defense came to life in the fourth to guarantee that they would win, and Davis is aware that defense is still this team’s most crucial component:
We made an effort to project a defensive demeanor. If my memory serves me correctly, they scored 33 points in the first quarter. We allowed them to get back into the game in the third and even somewhat in the second. Therefore, we aim to improve in the final two quarters to close out and begin the half. However, I believe that overall, we did a really good job of setting the tone defensively, understanding that defense will probably win us games when we’re not playing well offensively.
The consistency still needs to be better, but the Lakers have shown time and again this season that they are capable of really locking down teams for long stretches. Davis is the key to any defensive success for this team and they will go as far as he carries them on that end of the court.
Anthony Davis of the Lakers is playing despite a “still sore” knee injury.
In the Lakers’ victory in Brooklyn, Anthony Davis ended with 24 points, 14 rebounds, and three blocks. He performed admirably as usual, but he is still dealing with a knee problem, so he is not quite at 100%.
However, Davis stated that he believes the issue will go away in a few days and that it won’t stop him from playing for the Lakers every night. While Davis acknowledged that his knee still hurts, he said he will be well moving ahead.
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