Anthony Davis’ 52 Minutes In Lakers’ 2OT Win Most Since Kobe Bryant In 2012

Meanwhile, the Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo recorded his ninth triple-double of the season with 29 points, 21 rebounds, 11 assists, two steals and three blocks. Since the Lakers were playing without LeBron James, AD was forced to take control, as he played a career-high 52 minutes, which is the most by a Lakers player since 2012.

Notably, Kobe Bryant also scored 34 points in 52 minutes of playing time in a 2OT win against the Grizzlies (3/12/12). Important to keep in mind, that despite being riddled with injuries in the past and having been dubbed the nickname “Day-to-Day Davis”, the nine-time All-Star has now played in 96 of his last 100 games.  

The Bucks jumped out to an early lead, outscoring the Lakers 32-16 in the first quarter. Nevertheless, the Lakers stuck in the ball game and rallied at the end to make a comeback.

“Just dealt with a lot of adversity throughout the entirety of the game,” coach Darvin Ham said. “Was able to pull ourselves together and stay focused, never gave up.”

To point out, the Lakers trailed by 19 points at the 8:25 minute mark in the fourth quarter, and with the team playing on the front end of a back-to-back, they were probably one or two bad defensive possessions away from emptying the bench. With this in mind, the Lakers decided not to surrender and battled it out until the final whistle, as key contributors Austin Reaves, D’Angelo Russell, and Davis each played 48+ minutes and helped lead the team down the stretch. 

“It was one of those moments that you could either flip the page to tomorrow, get ready for that game or you could go out and compete 110% and give yourself an opportunity or at least try to give yourself an opportunity to get back in the game,” Reaves said postgame.

Reaves put up 29 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 assists in 48 minutes of playing time. In addition, Russell scored 25 of his 29 points in the second half, to go along with 12 assists and seven rebounds.

Despite missing 19 shot attempts, Davis was the player of the game, as he played with a banged-up knee and still had a historic night, being the first player since 2017 to have at least 30+ points, 20+ rebounds, four blocks and three three-pointers in a game. To mention, the last player to accomplish this feat was AD’s former teammate on the Pelicans, DeMarcus Cousins (12/19/17).

“A 20-point lead in this league now, it’s nothing because of the way the offense is right now in the league, so high-powered that you can wipe a lead away pretty fast,” Davis said. “We just tried to use the first five or six minutes [of 4th quarter] to try and cut the lead down and take it from there.”

The Lakers held the Bucks scoreless for the final 3 ½ minutes of regulation, going on an 8-0 run after Davis and Reaves each hit a three at the end, as well as Taurean Prince making two free throws to tie the game at 101-101, which ultimately sent the game into OT. The first lead of the game for the Lakers didn’t come until the 2:19 minute mark in the first overtime when Spencer Dinwiddie made a three-pointer to put the Lakers up 111-108. With 13 seconds left in OT, Damian Lillard (28 points), made a corner three, allowing the Bucks to regain the lead 117-115; and then with three seconds on the clock Russell was fouled, making two clutch free throws, to tie it at 117-117.

To highlight, AD had the defensive play of the game, as he blocked Lillard at the rim with .2 seconds left, to send the game into double overtime. Reaves made a tie-breaking three-pointer with 38 seconds left in the second OT, putting the away team up 124-121, and this pretty much sealed the comeback victory for the Lakers. 

“Huge win for the team, everybody pitched in… everybody was two feet in on that game to do whatever it took,” Russell said.

The Lakers’ big three tonight, Davis, Russell, and Reaves, combined for 43 points and 10 assists in the 4th quarter/OT to help lift the Lakers to a victory over the Bucks for the second time this month, both of which LeBron was not in uniform. The Lakers have now won four games in a row, improving to a 40-32 record, and remain as the ninth seed in the West; while the Bucks now have a 46-26 record, and are currently the second seed in the East.