Anthony Davis he wasn’t even sure he was going to speak for the the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday. He was initially listed as questionable against the Minnesota Timberwolves due to illness and pain in the left shoulder. The injury gods finally smiled on Davis and the Lakers. Not only was he able to play, but the Minnesota Timberwolves were without their two star big men. Rudy Gobert And Cities of Karl-Anthony. This positioned Davis for a big game, and boy, did he deliver.
The final line was astonishing: 27 points, 25 rebounds, seven steals, five assists and three blocks. Hold on to your hats, folks, because a lot of history has been made in this one:
- Davis became the first player in NBA history of reaching 25 points, 25 rebounds, five steals and five assists in a single game.
- Davis became the first Laker to reach the threshold of 25 points and 25 rebounds since Shaquille O’Neal in 2004. He became the first NBA player to do so this season. The last players to accomplish this feat before Davis were Nikola Jokic And Ivica Zubacboth in 2022.
- Davis had seven interceptions for the first time in a regular season game. He did, however, throw seven interceptions in one playoff game, a 2023 first-round matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies.
- Davis tied his career high of 10 offensive rebounds in a game. He last did so in the 2022-23 season against the Brooklyn nets.
Unfortunately, Davis fell just shy of one of the most coveted statistical milestones in sports. He finished with three blocks. If he had reached five points, he would have had the 23rd five-on-five game in NBA history. Of course, missing something probably doesn’t bother Davis too much. After all, he made the 20th par five in 2018. Still, Davis could have become only the fourth player in league history to do it twice, joining Hakeem Olajuwon, Julius Erving and Andrei Kirilenko, so failing could take a bite. little.
Still, he can take solace in what was a pretty big win for the Lakers. At 36-30, they are now six games above .500 for the first time since trading for Russell Westbrook. They remain two games behind the No. 8 seed. Dallas Mavericks in the loss column in the Western Conference standings, but they are three wins ahead of No. 10 Warriors of the Golden State. They are 11-5 overall in their last 16 games and are trending in the right direction after an uneven start to the season. If Davis can continue to post lines like this, the Lakers might actually be able to escape the play-in round entirely. All in all, not a bad day at the office for someone who barely played at all.
