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Anthony Davis on Lakers' Game 2 Win: 'We Stayed Poised. We Stayed Comfortable'
May 26, 2021
Los Angeles Lakers superstar big man Anthony Davis explained how the Lakers bounced back with a Game 2 win Tuesday in their first-round playoff series against the Phoenix Suns.
According to Mark Medina of USA Today, Davis said after the Lakers' 109-102 win: "We stayed poised. We stayed comfortable. We have been in that position before. We didn't overreact."
Davis and LeBron James both made big shots down the stretch for the Lakers, and AD bounced back from a poor Game 1 performance to finish Game 2 with 34 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.
AD led all scorers in Tuesday's game and went 7-of-15 from the field and 18-of-21 from the free-throw line.
Davis made a big three-pointer with 2:15 left in the game to extend the Lakers' lead from three to six, and he then proceeded to make all six of his free-throw attempts inside two minutes to ice the game for L.A.
It represented a huge bounce-back for Davis, who struggled mightily in Game 1 with just 13 points on 5-of-16 shooting to go along with seven rebounds, three blocks and two assists.
Davis was also a minus-18 in Game 1, but he reversed course in a big way in Game 2, posting a plus-6.
Following his poor Game 1 performance, Davis put the onus on himself to improve, saying: "There's no way we're winning a game, let alone a series, with me playing the way that I played. So, I mean, this is on me. I take full responsibility, for sure."
Injuries limited Davis to just 36 games during the regular season, so rust could have been a factor in Game 1, although there were no signs of it in Game 2.
Despite being a No. 7 seed and needing to win a play-in game over the Golden State Warriors just to reach the postseason, the Lakers are favored to beat the second-seeded Suns in the first round.
Given that the Lakers are the defending champions and that Davis, James and Dennis Schroder are all now healthy after missing significant time in the regular season, it is easy to understand why the Lakers are the favorites.
In Game 2, they looked like the team most expected to see when the 2020-21 season began, and if Davis continues to play at that level, a championship repeat could be in the cards.