“I got to figure it out” - Anthony Davis admits he has work to do after Nikola Jokic destroyed him in Game 1
Anthony Davis and the LA Lakers had a tough time dealing with Denver Nuggets superstar center Nikola Jokic during Game 1 of the Western Conference finals. This came as Jokic finished with a monster triple-double with 34 points, 21 rebounds, 14 assists, two blocks and three 3-pointers on 70.6% shooting.
Meanwhile, the Nuggets came away with a 132-126 victory after leading by as many as 21 points. After Wednesday’s team film session, Davis was asked what he can do to better contain Jokic moving forward. Davis said that he is still trying to figure it out, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin:
“After film today Anthony Davis accepted the responsibility of guiding LAL’s defense against DEN - whether that’s going 1-on-1 vs. Nikola Jokic or roaming and still keeping an eye on Aaron Gordon at the same time: ‘That’s why they pay me the big bucks. I got to figure it out,’” McMenamin tweeted.
After film today Anthony Davis accepted the responsibility of guiding LAL’s defense against DEN - whether that’s going 1-on-1 vs. Nikola Jokic or roaming and still keeping an eye on Aaron Gordon at the same time: “That’s why they pay me the big bucks. I got to figure it out.”
Davis finished with 40 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks on 60.9% shooting in Game 1. The 40 points marked his highest-scoring game of the 2023 playoffs (13 games).
However, as Davis touched on, he will likely need to pick things up defensively to help the Lakers secure a win in Game 2.
Also read: "We'll be okay" - Darvin Ham plays down concerns despite LA Lakers going down 0-1 against the Nuggets
LeBron James on Lakers’ Game 1 loss to Denver
LA Lakers star forward LeBron James also spoke about the Lakers’ Game 1 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday night. James attributed the loss to the Lakers not being ready to start the game and falling behind 72-54 at halftime:
“Yeah, it took us a half to get into the game,” James said.
“And that was pretty much the ballgame right there. They punched us in the mouth to start. ... I know the game is won in 48 minutes, but they set the tone in 24 minutes, and we were playing catch-up for the next 24.”
Game 2 between the Lakers and Nuggets will take place on Thursday in Denver.
Also read: "Honestly the best player in the world" - Nuggets fans hail Nikola Jokic after absurd triple-double in Game 1