The Los Angeles Lakers pulled off a 120-109 win over the No. 1 seed Minnesota Timberwolves without their big men, Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert. Anthony Davis dominated the game with KAT and Rudy absent, putting up a one-of-a-kind statline. Lakers fans went crazy for his historic night.
Nothing like a big win on home court 🏠 pic.twitter.com/eFobaGIslw
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) March 11, 2024
Fans were calling the performance a masterclass.
Anthony Davis masterclass pic.twitter.com/dM1dstzwH5
— Rebecah 🍒 (@BecahJayy) March 11, 2024
AD’s numbers impacted winning as fans were overjoyed with his incredible contributions in the fourth quarter.
this is one of the craziest stat lines of the season for anthony davis
the number 1 reason why we closed out this 4th quarter masterfully pic.twitter.com/kmFtG8xdEY
— Coach Rome (@Rome_Beast) March 11, 2024
Fans reminded everyone why Anthony Davis is considered a unicorn for his position.
this is one of those Anthony Davis UNICORN games! pic.twitter.com/zZNVHU2qNt
— 73-9 and THEY LIED (@CuffsTheLegend) March 11, 2024
Fans already know that this performance will lead to media narratives about a possible NBA Finals run.
I can’t wait for ESPN to say that if Anthony Davis can play like this in the playoffs then the Lakers can make it to the NBA Finals. pic.twitter.com/zH1aY64CVK
— Swipa (@SwipaCam) March 11, 2024
The performance reminded fans of the stat lines we see in NBA 2K.
Anthony Davis stat line on some 2k myCareer type beat dawg what did i just read
— A ✩ (@adryanashton) March 11, 2024
Fans compared AD’s performance to Shaquille O’Neal on the Lakers.
Anthony Davis tonight pic.twitter.com/pDHKPimw26
— Jake (@playoffjake) March 11, 2024
Fans loved the fluidity of the Lakers offense tonight, orchestrated by LeBron James.
Idk if some of yall watched but the lakers moved the ball beautifully with Bron on the floor tonight..
I know yall love to push narratives but if you open your eyes, you’d see how yall just be yappin on here pic.twitter.com/Do8LC3PD6y
— 4 4 4 (@SlimSleepr) March 11, 2024
Anthony Davis stole the headlines with an incredible 27 points, 25 rebounds, five assists, seven steals, and three blocks in the win. LeBron James had an amazing night too, putting up 29 points, eight rebounds, and nine assists. Austin Reaves contributed as well with 19 points while Rui Hachimura put up 15 points.
The short-handed Timberwolves were led by Anthony Edwards‘ 25 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists. Naz Reid stepped in for Gobert and KAT with a great offensive performance, putting up 25 points and four blocks. Nickeil Alexander-Walker had a solid all-around performance with 15 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and two steals.
Lakers Push On In The West Play-In Race
This was supposed to be one of the hardest stretches of the Lakers season but they’ve picked up crucial wins over the Thunder, Clippers, Bucks, and Wolves in this stretch. This win improves their record to 36-30, just one game behind the Dallas Mavericks in the No. 8 seed. They’re two games behind the Phoenix Suns in No. 6, so the team will continue pushing toward that goal.
Anthony Davis has long been heralded as the Lakers defining factor behind success, as the team relies on him the most defensively and he’s expected to at least match the offensive impact LeBron has on the game. On a weakened Minnesota backline, Davis maximized his size advantage and dominated the game. He has a size and skill advantage against other teams in the West and if he executes that properly, the Lakers could be unstoppable.
The Lakers’ next two games are arguably their most important of the season with major standings implications. They face the Kings again after losing to them earlier this week in a game where AD was nullified by Domantas Sabonis. They’re 1.5 games behind Sacramento and can cause a one-game swing with a win on Wednesday.
The game after that is against the Golden State Warriors, who have fallen 1.5 games behind the Lakers in the No. 10 spot. A win here can extend that gap by a game, as the Warriors enter a tricky set of fixtures which includes three matchups against the Mavericks in the next month.
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