Getty CJ McCollum of the New Orleans Pelicans and Anthony Davis of the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Los Angeles Lakers have a real chance to make some noise down the stretch of the season. They made a ton of moves at this year’s trade deadline in an attempt to bolster their roster. And ever since they made said moves, they’ve played at a much higher level.
On Tuesday night, the Lakers took down the New Orleans Pelicans, helping them maintain their place in the playoff race. Anthony Davis was absolutely dominant, leading LA to victory, and after the game, D’Angelo Russell showed some serious love to the Lakers big man.
“To answer your question, AD is a monster,” Russell said via the NBA Interviews YouTube channel. “He continues to dominate the games. From defensively or offensively, tonight, he did a little bit of both. So, he continues to help our team. And then our supporting cast was amazing as well. I think that’s what got us over the hump.”
Davis led the way for the Lakers in the win, picking up the pace on offense and dominating the glass. He finished the night with 35 points, 17 rebounds, and one assist on 11-of-18 shooting from the field and 1-of-2 shooting from behind the three-point line. The big man also shot 12-of-13 from the free-throw line.
As for Russell, he was fairly inefficient but still put up decent stats. The Lakers guard ended the game with 17 points, five rebounds, three assists, and two steals on 5-of-15 shooting overall and 3-of-9 shooting from beyond the three-point arc.
Anthony Davis Shows Love to Malik Beasley
Davis wasn’t the only player to put up great numbers in LA’s win over the Pelicans. Malik Beasley also stepped up in a big way, pouring in 24 points and lighting up New Orleans from behind the three-point line. After the contest, Davis gave serious praise to Beasley for his performance.
“After shootaround today, he got a lot of threes up, and it showed,” Davis said via the NBA Interviews YouTube channel. “He’s very hard on himself, and as far as shooting the basketball, he never wants to miss two in a row. And he came out on fire. Anytime he’s making shots, it just opens the floor up more for all our guys to get to the basket. Even when he’s missing, I mean, you still got to respect him as a shooter. But when he’s making, he gets very hot, and the rim gets very big for him.”
Anthony Davis Gives Teammates Credit
After the Lakers’ recent loss to the New York Knicks, Davis was disappointed. He played poorly on the offensive end of the court and felt as though he was responsible. That being said, he showed love to his teammates while simultaneously taking the blame.
“Everything,” Davis said via the NBA Interviews YouTube channel when asked what he could have done better in the game. “They had a good presence defensively. Offensively, I wasn’t there. Like I said, free throws, layups, the handle, the shots. Just everything offensively. Guys played well tonight. Did their jobs. Dennis [Schroder], D-Lo [Russell], Austin [Reaves], Wenyen [Gabriel], Rui [Hachimura] – all these guys did more than enough to help win the game. I didn’t do my part.”