LOS ANGELES — Anthony Davis stepped to the line for the two biggest free throws of the game with 3.0 seconds remaining. If Davis made both, the Los Angeles Lakers would be up by four points, a nearly insurmountable deficit with the Toronto Raptors out of timeouts.
Before his first attempt, former teammate and current Raptor Dennis Schröder approached Davis.
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“This is when the pressure is on now,” he said.
Davis has missed critical free throws in several close losses over the last two seasons, and he is well aware of it.
“Boston last year,” Davis said postgame. “Philly.”
But with a chance to ice this game, a crucial one to stem his team’s recent slide, Davis was unfazed by his previous misses — and motivated by Schröder’s comment.
“I feel very confident stepping up to the line in any situation to make free throws to put the game away,” Davis said. “Nothing went through my mind.”
Davis made both free throws, capping a season-high 41-point performance and earning the Lakers their second consecutive win after a stretch of nine losses in 11 games. Los Angeles defeated the Raptors 132-131 at Crypto.com Arena on Tuesday night, returning to .500 at 19-19. Davis shot 13 of 17 from the floor and 13 of 14 on free throws, adding 11 rebounds, six assists and one block in a game-high 40 minutes.
Tuesday marked the first time the Lakers won consecutive games since the In-Season Tournament a month ago. They remain No. 10 in the Western Conference and are now 2-2 on their five-game homestand, with a crucial matchup Thursday against the Phoenix Suns.
With Raptors center Jakob Poeltl (left ankle sprain) ruled out indefinitely hours before the game, Toronto didn’t have a traditional center to match up with Davis. It got creative with aggressive doubling and trapping, as well as some variants of a 1-2-2 zone, but Davis had an answer against every look.
“We know that without Poeltl, the rim protection wasn’t gonna be there tonight,” Davis said. “We just tried to take advantage of that.”
Anthony Davis with a season-high 41 PTS including 20 in the 4th quarter 😤
Lakers get the W. pic.twitter.com/2J6SofE8XS
— NBA (@NBA) January 10, 2024
Through all of the Lakers’ recent ups and (mainly) downs, Davis has been the lone bright spot. He’s been the team’s most reliable player, comfortably pouring in 30-plus points with Defensive Player of the Year-caliber play on the other end.
Over the past month — including the In-Season tournament championship game against the Indiana Pacers, which did not count toward the regular-season standings — Davis is averaging 31.0 points, 12.1 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.4 blocks in 38.1 minutes per game. His shooting splits over that stretch: 60.5 percent from the field, 42.3 percent from 3 and 76.6 percent from the free-throw line.
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He’s been the Lakers’ best player this season, and, increasingly, their focal point on offense. After carrying the defense all season, Davis has begun to carry the largest load on both sides of the ball. Lakers coach Darvin Ham said this is probably the best stretch of basketball he’s seen from Davis during his 18-month tenure coaching him.
“It’s up there,” Ham said. “You could tell his body’s feeling good. He’s in a good space. His energy is great. He’s just doing what he needs to do. He’s not trying to force anything. It’s coming. That’s why it’s so efficient. He’s just playing the game the way it’s supposed to be played, getting good hits on screens. … He’s in a really good mental space, spiritual space. And physically, he’s at a really high level right now.”
When relayed Ham’s assessment, Davis deflected the praise and credited his teammates.
“Just in a great rhythm right now,” Davis said. “My teammates are doing a great job of giving me the basketball in spots where I can be effective. Trying to do everything I can just to help the team get back to the other side, which is winning.”
Since Dec. 9, Davis has been shooting 44.4 percent on midrange jumpers — a 27 percent increase from his conversion rate prior to that point (17.4 percent). His jumper has long been the key to his offensive performance and one of the deciding factors of the Lakers’ offense. The Lakers don’t have enough collective shooting to withstand Davis only being able to thrive within 10 feet of the basket.
As was the case during the 2019-20 championship season, Davis’ jumper has made him nearly unguardable. He’s too quick for centers and too powerful for forwards and guards. He’s reading double-teams well, shooting over the top of the defense before the help comes and finding shooters and cutters if opponents surprise him.
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“I just wasn’t shooting it enough,” Davis said. “A lot of my shots were coming in the paint — post-ups and duck-ins and seals and things like that. Now, the way that teams are playing me, doubling on the catch and on the dribble, I’ve been just getting back to the mid-range. It’s an easier shot instead of fighting the double teams to get a shot up. So that’s all it is. Continuing to trust it and shoot it.”
Davis wasn’t efficient from the midrange against the Raptors — he was just 1-for-3 on 2-pointers outside of 10 feet — but it didn’t matter with how frequently he was overpowering smaller defenders and scoring in the paint. Ten of his 13 field goals came within 7 feet of the rim. He obliterated switches, effortlessly pinning and scoring over the likes of RJ Barrett and Scottie Barnes.
Davis scored 16 points in the first quarter and 20 points in the fourth quarter, including 11-of-11 at the free-throw line. The free throws caused Raptors coach Darko Rajaković to go on a postgame tirade about the discrepancy between the teams in the fourth quarter (the Lakers attempted 23 fourth-quarter free throws in comparison with the Raptors’ two). For the game, the Lakers attempted 23 more free throws than the Raptors (36 to 13).
Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic was not pleased with the officiating in tonight's game against the Lakers.
Los Angeles went to the line 23 times during the 4th quarter en route to their home win against Toronto.
🎥 @BleacherReport pic.twitter.com/bNtQgrTgSu
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) January 10, 2024
Though Davis propelled the offense during pivotal stretches, he certainly had help.
LeBron James had 22 points and 12 assists, with six of those helpers occurring before he scored his first basket. Austin Reaves had 11 points and seven assists, making a clutch 3 and key free throws down the stretch. Cam Reddish, who exited the game at the 3:52 mark after taking a flagrant foul elbow from Immanuel Quickley to the mouth, had 13 points and played solid defense. (Reddish was evaluated by the team’s medical staff after the game. There is no update on his status yet.) And Christian Wood (14 points) and D’Angelo Russell (11) combined for 25 points off the bench, as the new-look second unit continues to find its rhythm. (Russell declined to speak with the media for the second consecutive game.)
“It was all of us,” Davis said. “It just wasn’t me, honestly. Some big-time stops. We got rebounds. They wanted me to get the ball for as far as free throws, but the team was making the right reads and I was just trying to finish.”
The results hadn’t been there over the past month for the Lakers, but back-to-back wins is a solid start at making up ground in the standings. A win over the 19-18 Suns on Thursday would push them to No. 9 in the West, and possibly No. 8 depending on what happens with the 18-17 Houston Rockets before then.
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Like the Raptors, the Suns struggle to defend the paint, meaning Davis, who continues to play arguably the best basketball of his Lakers career, should keep feasting as he keeps Los Angeles’ postseason ambitions alive.
“We can’t win without AD,” James said. “It’s impossible.”
(Top photo: Sean M. Haffey / Getty Images)
