Dallas – Anthony Davis is back for the Los Angeles Lakers. Now the Dallas Mavericks will have to see how long they can live without their big man, Kristaps Porzingis.
Luka Doncic scored 30 points, leading the Mavericks to a 115–110 win over the Lakers on Thursday night as Davis rusted after missing 30 games with right calf and heel issues, an eight-time All-Star Had the longest absence of his career.
Poringis left in the third quarter and did not return for two consecutive matches against the Lakers after spraining his left ankle.
Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said, “I’m not sure where it will start. Porzingis said that a rematch was not ruled out on Saturday as well as on National TV, just like this meeting.” “Too many ups and downs.”
Playing for the first time in nearly 10 weeks, Davis scored four points on 2 minutes of shooting, while only being limited to 17 minutes in the first half. Coach Frank Vogel said the plan was 15 minutes, but Davis said the limit was actually up to 20.
Davis’s final act in the final minutes of the first half forced Josh Richardson to miss in the lane despite not challenging the shot. Earlier he blocked a shot by 7-foot-3 Porzingis and forced Doncic to throw an aerial ball off.
“He affects the game on both ends, but his defense was very good,” Vogel said. “He got up from where he left off. He is one of the best defensive players in the league when he has got under his feet and his conditioning. “
Davis, who had four rebels, missed two free throws while settling for the jumpers, but also failed to convert to the rim. His first bucket was a jumper above the key after five misses.
Davis was shut out following a 122–105 loss at Denver on February 14, when in his ninth season, the 28-year-old played just 14 minutes to start the LA Slide of five defeats in six matches.
With Davis on the bench for the rest of the game and fellow star LeBron James also watching from there with his sprained right ankle, the Lakers erased an 11-point halftime deficit and within four minutes despite having three minutes remaining gone.
“It was better than expected,” Davis said. “I really liked it. It is tough when you want to watch the entire second half and not be able to contribute on the floor. “
The Lakers fell to 7-10 following their injury, with James expected to miss at least two more weeks. Defending NBA Champs are fifth in the Western Conference, outscoring home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
Porzingis is playing back-to-back for the third time this season as the Mavericks tried to protect him after offskin knee surgery, scoring 19 points before licking the bench and eventually off the court following his latest injury. Passed out.
The Latvian missed the first nine matches following the procedure on his right knee. Poringis was out in the back row with another three and missed 19 games this season.
Kentavius Caldwell-Pope scored a season-high 29 points, Dennis Schroder 25 and 13 assists and Andre Drummond had 14 points and 19 rebounds for the Lakers.
Caldwell-Pope drew LA with 110-106, with Dorian Finney-Smith replying one after the other, as the teams missed trading. The Mavericks won their second straight match at home after four consecutive defeats at the American Airlines Center.
“For us, it’s playing hard, playing with high energy,” said Doncic, who had nine rebellions and eight with Alexander ascending the No. 7 seed with the Mavericks and the play-in portion of Plessen Was trying to escape. “The games we lost, I think we didn’t have the energy, and we didn’t work hard. So I think those two things are the key to the playoffs.”
Leave a Reply