Anthony Davis had game-high 41 points and nine rebounds in his first game against his former New Orleans Pelicans squad in a win for the Los Angeles Lakers, 114-110. For the Lakers, the win is their ninth straight, tied with the Milwaukee Bucks for the longest active win-streak in the NBA.
But Davis needed plenty of help to close. LeBron James had 16 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter while Kyle Kuzma had nine points in the final frame, including a pair of huge 3-pointers as the Lakers rallied from a double-digit deficit in the win.
The Lakers began the game by force feeding Davis. He scored 14 points for the Lakers in the first quarter but they found themselves down by double-digits early on, 38-25. It was almost as if in a trip back to New Orleans, the Lakers made Davis feel as though he were back on the Pelicans.
The theme of Davis scoring prolifically while the Lakers struggled to keep pace with the Pelicans continued well into the second half. Davis had 36 points when he was forced to leave the game momentarily after having Josh Hart ran into his right arm.
Luckily for the Lakers Davis returned with 7:41 left, but with a big job done for him as the Lakers rallied from double-digits to take the lead in the fourth quarter. A jumper by James gave the Lakers a 97-95 lead with six minutes left. A 3-pointer pushed the lead to five but the Pelicans would hang in for the final stretch.
Now the Lakers leave to go back home to Los Angeles still holding the best record in the league and with the emotions of Wednesday’s return for Davis behind them.
