Getty Lakers stars LeBron James, D'Angelo Russell and Anthony Davis
After the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Golden State Warriors in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals, D’Angelo Russell talked about Anthony Davis, who had a stellar performance.
The eight-time All-Star put up 30 points, 23 rebounds, five assists and four blocks in 44 minutes.
“Big. Huge. Huge. Huge performance,” Russell said. “He’s been dominating the playoffs. Gets a lot of hate from the media throughout the year, and I wasn’t a part of it, but I don’t know what you could say about the guy. He’s on the court for almost the whole game. Last series, he dominated when he’s out there. Never asked for a sub. Never asked for a break. If he can play, he’ll dominate the game. If he can’t play, he can’t play.”
Davis shot 11-of-19 from the field and a perfect 8-of-8 from the free-throw line in Game 1. The Chicago native is the first Laker with 30 points and 20 rebounds in a playoff game since Shaquille O’Neal in the 2004 Finals. Davis also joined some other Lakers legends.
The Lakers won Game 1 by a final score of 117-112. They will look to take a commanding 2-0 series lead in Game 2, which is on May 4.
Anthony Davis After Game 1: We Didn’t Do Anything
Davis told Chris Haynes of TNT that the Lakers “didn’t do anything” despite winning Game 1. The future Hall of Famer knows how dangerous the Warriors are and that the series is the first to four wins.
“We didn’t do anything,” Davis said. “We came in, we got a game, but like I said, last series we see what this team can do. We know what this team can do. We know what they’re capable of. So we go back, look at the film, ways we can do better, clean up that last like five minutes in the fourth quarter when they got hot. … We was able to get one in Game 1, but like I said, we haven’t done anything.”
The Warriors were down 2-0 to the Sacramento Kings in the first round and won the series in seven games. They were also down 2-1 to the Boston Celtics in last year’s Finals and won the championship in six games. Golden State has proven it can win a series despite being down early, so Los Angeles has to remain focused moving forward.
D’Angelo Russell Played Well in Game 1
Russell, who appeared in 33 games with the Warriors in 2019-20 before getting traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves, played well in Game 1. The lefty had 19 points and six assists in 33 minutes while shooting 9-of-19 overall.
The Lakers acquired Russell from the Timberwolves at the February trade deadline. The one-time All-Star becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer, so the playoffs are important for Russell to show the purple and gold he’s capable of being the point guard of the future.
Russell is eligible through June 30 to sign a two-year, $67.5 million extension with the Lakers, according to ESPN NBA front-office insider Bobby Marks. D’Lo becomes an unrestricted free agent if he and Los Angeles don’t agree to an extension.