Getty Anthony Davis of the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Los Angeles Lakers are on a roll but Anthony Davis made it clear they’re hungry for more.
The Lakers blasted the Houston Rockets 134-109 on Sunday, moving their record to 40-38 and putting them within striking distance of the top half of the standings in the Western Conference. The Lakers are just a half-game back of the No. 5 seed Clippers and three games back of No. 4 seeded Phoenix Suns.
“We getting greedy,” Davis said. “We are not satisfied.”
Anthony Davis to @LakersReporter:
“We’re getting greedy. We’re not satisfied.” 😤
Davis has been carrying the load. He scored 40 points on 15-for-20 shooting with nine rebounds and two blocked shots against the Rockets. He had notched 38 points in each of the two games prior.
“When AD comes out and does what AD did tonight, and the last 3 games, and honestly for most of the season … if he continues to do this we’ll be a problem,” Austin Reaves said after the game.
Lakers head coach Darvin Ham echoed that sentiment on his star big man.
“Not so much just getting the numbers, but how he’s getting the numbers,” Ham said. “Him being in attack mode. Just playing downhill constantly toward the paint, toward the rim. Living in the paint. Being the main catalyst. … And we expect him to continue that.”
LeBron James Sounds Off on Lakers Title Hopes
The Lakers had a miserable start to the year and just recently climbed over the .500 mark, in large part because of their roster moves but also getting back healthy. LeBron James — who recently returned after a month out with a foot injury — knows that getting fully in sync will take some time, but he likes what he’s seen.
“We just want to put ourselves in position to be able to compete for a championship,” James said. “It’s a journey, and obviously we don’t have as much chemistry as a lot of other teams trying to compete for a championship or that have aspirations to win a championship, but I like what we’ve been building over the last month or so.
“Even when I was out for the four weeks, I liked what we’ve been building and I’m happy to be back in the mix.”
James is averaging 28.8 points, 8.5 rebounds and 6.9 assists this season. He notched the 107th triple-double of his career against the Rockets, tying him with Jason Kidd for No. 4 on the all-time list.
LeBron Says Chemistry Key For Lakers
As James mentioned, there are a lot of new faces in the Lakers rotation playing key roles. LA has already been in do-or-die mode but James stressed the importance of closing out the regular season strong.
“These last four games are very important for our team,” James said. “Not only in wins and losses, but in the chemistry side of it as well. We got to continue to build what we’ve been building over the last month or so. So, we’ll see what happens.”
The Lakers have just four games left on their schedule, which includes matchups against the Clippers and Suns — teams ahead of them in the standings as of Sunday night.