FSM Essential Recap: Lakers vs. Mavericks – Game 59
Thursday night was a monumental game for the Los Angeles Lakers as Anthony Davis returned to the court after missing more than two months of action due to a calf/Achilles injury. He only played limited minutes though and the Lakers came up short against Luka Doncic and Co., falling to the Dalllas Mavericks by a score of 115-110.
Davis could not knock down his first three jumpers but was active on the defensive glass and looked to push in semi-transition to start the game. After going up 14-6, Los Angeles found themselves trailing 19-16 after Dallas found their groove on the offensive end.
Montrezl Harrell looked more like himself as soon as he entered the game, scoring around the rim and grabbing a contested offensive rebound. However, the Mavericks got nearly anything they wanted offensively, so the Lakers went into the second down 31-26.
After sitting most of the first quarter due to foul trouble, Doncic finally got going himself going offensively after knocking down a pull-up mid-ranger and draining a tough corner three over Davis. Foul trouble also plagued Los Angeles as the tight whistle allowed Dallas to get into the bonus early, and they capitalized on all their trips to the free-throw line.
The Lakers did not have much luck making much of a dent in the Mavericks lead as they could not string enough stops on the defensive end. L.A. could not slow down Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis, and they went into the half down 62-51.
Davis wound up playing 17 minutes, scoring four points on 2-of-10 shooting to go along with four rebounds, one assist, one block, and one steal. While he struggled with his shot, just being healthy and on the court was a big positive to take away from this one for Davis.
The Lakers got off to a much better start in the third, ripping off an 11-0 run before the Mavericks responded with a 10-0 run of their own to go back up 10 points. Dennis Schroder caught fire from the field, going on his own personal 10-0 run and an Alex Caruso three put the Lakers up 77-76.
The two teams then toggled with the lead as each answered any time the other scored. However, the Lakers would head into the fourth, trailing 94-90.
Los Angeles’s defense did not show up at the top of the final quarter as they allowed Dallas to go on a 9-2 run. The Lakers looked like they would finally get over the hump, but some questionable officiating prevented them from getting too close.
The Purple and Gold tried to make a late-game run, trimming the deficit to as little as four points, thanks to some clutch threes by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
Ultimately it wasn’t enough, though, as the Mavericks closed it out late to earn the victory.
Lakers News and Notes:
Even though the Los Angeles Lakers came up short against the Dallas Mavericks in the first of their two-game miniseries on Thursday, the most important part of the night was Anthony Davis.
The Lakers superstar big man made his return after missing 30 straight games due to Achilles and calf issues.
Davis was kept on a minutes restriction, playing 17 minutes, all in the first half, and finishing with four points, four rebounds, one assist, one steal, and one block. He shot just 2-for-10 from the field, with many attempts coming from the midrange area.
Most importantly, however, is that after the game, Davis felt just good following his first in-game action in two months. “I felt fine,” Davis said after the loss.
“My wind felt better than I expected. I got good looks, I missed. Obviously, that comes with time and being able to get those game reps, but I felt good out there. I felt really good. I was able to do some things to give the team a little juice. … It’s just tough on you when you play, and you have to watch the whole second half not being able to contribute on the floor, so that was the tough thing I felt for the most part.”
Stamina is something that head coach Frank Vogel stressed coming into the game. Nothing can replicate true NBA game speed and Davis getting his legs back under him is of the utmost importance. The Lakers want to take all precautions with Davis to ensure he will be good to go for the stretch run and playoffs and him feeling good after 15 minutes is a good sign moving forward.
The shooting percentage is the least of concerns for Davis and likely Vogel as well. As Davis noted, he had several good looks that didn’t fall, and as he gets more comfortable, that is likely to change. As far as concerns over his injury, Davis pushed that out of his mind.
“I didn’t think about it one time tonight. Honestly, I just went out there and played. I think it kind of limits what you do if you are out there thinking about your injury, so I just went out there and played. Not think about it and go out there and have fun.
“Being excited to be back out there on the floor was my main thing. I was just excited to be back on the floor with the guys, so I never thought about it. I never had it limit any moves.”
Plenty of players across all sports have issues when coming back from these kinds of injuries. It wouldn’t be shocking for Davis to be concerned about a possible Achilles tear, considering that was a possibility at the time of the initial injury. But pushing those thoughts away allowed him to play freely on this night.
The Lakers surely would have loved to come away with the win, but getting Davis back healthy and feeling good after the game is the most important victory they could have asked for.
Davis wasn’t the only person within the franchise feeling great after his return. Lakers head coach Frank Vogel expressed his excitement at seeing Davis back in the Purple and Gold.
“Great to see him back in a Lakers uniform and on the floor for us,” Vogel said. “Had a little bit of rust, but I thought he played extremely well, and we’re super excited to have him back out there.”
The Lakers remain Dallas to take on the Mavericks Saturay evening. Tip-off is at 5:30 pm and the game can be seen on ABC and on Spectrum SportsNet.
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-Joe Arrigo – Franchise Sports Media
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