Despite a rough start early on, Anthony Davis and the Los Angeles Lakers were finally able to put the finishing touches on another dominant win at home after beating the Memphis Grizzlies to move to 3-1 in the 2019-20 NBA season.
The Lakers had gotten off to a sluggish start on both ends of the floor as their struggles were magnified by Davis clearly dealing with some shoulder pain early on. Fortunately, he was able to find his rhythm following a quick trip to the locker and it was only a matter of time before he managed to completely take over the game.
Davis’ 40-point, 20-rebound performance was highlighted by a spectacular outing to start the second half that saw him cap off a 22-0 run with five straight trips to the free-throw line. He finished with a career day from the charity stripe by going 26-of-27, while sinking all 18 of his attempts in the third quarter alone.
LeBron James was also able to make his presence felt by providing a highlight play whenever Davis was sidelined. He finished with 23 points, eight assists, and a huge chase-down block in transition to help put the nail in the coffin for Memphis.
Perhaps the biggest concern was how cold Los Angeles was from deep after missing their first 10 three-pointers of the game.
Danny Green was finally able to put an end to the drought down the final stretch of the second quarter. Although they were ultimately able to hit 7-of-26 attempts from downtown, the bulk of it came with the game already well out of reach.
Aside from their efforts on the offensive end, Davis and James also helped lead a bit of a resurgence on defense in the second half as well.
JaVale McGee and Dwight Howard also got involved in the block party as the Lakers ultimately finished with nine steals and eight blocks. Their efforts on defense resulted in plenty of easy buckets in transition after scoring 27 fastbreak points.
It will undoubtedly be interesting to see how well they are able to perform once this roster is back to full strength with the looming return of Kyle Kuzma and Rajon Rondo.
The Lakers are now set to embark on a three-game road trip after successfully maintaining their perfect record at home.