NEW ORLEANS _ New Orleans-born rapper Lil Wayne's music thumped throughout the Los Angeles Lakers locker room pregame, as loud as a nightclub. Just before the rapper's voice said "Tunechi's back, Tunechi's back," Dwight Howard, the DJ, offered his edit:
"AD's back! AD's back!"
For weeks Anthony Davis had anticipated his return to New Orleans, the place where he spent the first seven years of his career before forcing his way out by asking for a trade. He'd been booed there before and knew it would happen again _ and it did.
He saw old friends, such as Jrue Holiday on the court and Sandra Pierre, a woman who has worked for the arena's catering company for 30 years, who he embraced tenderly, like a son coming home for the holidays.
"I took him as my child," she said later, about Davis who she met seven years ago when he was only 19. "That's my baby. I'll always love him."
But the thing that LeBron James had told Davis as he prepared for his return rang true. Once the game started, only basketball mattered.
And on the court, the Lakers escaped with another game. Despite facing a 15-point deficit late in the third quarter, the Lakers won 114-110, to improve to 16-2. The Lakers have won their past nine games.
Davis scored 41 points, 36 of them in three quarters, and left the game briefly after the third quarter because of an injury. Former Laker Josh Hart collided with Davis as he went for a rebound and Davis fell to the ground and grabbed his right elbow. He returned midway through the fourth and helped the Lakers close out the win.
Former Laker Lonzo Ball missed the game because of a stomach virus. Brandon Ingram, who was traded along with Hart and Ball, notched a double-double, scoring 23 points, including critical free throws late in the game, with 10 rebounds.
Davis got booed by Pelicans fans when he took the floor just before the game. Boos could be heard during player introductions and each time he touched the ball early in the game. One fan wore a paper bag over his head with Davis' face drawn on the front and another held a sign that had the letters "AD" on it, crossed out.
Still, the crowd was split between Lakers and Pelicans fans, so there were cheers mixed in with the boos and cheers every time Davis made a basket.
