The Los Angeles Lakers treated Game 2 of the series against the Phoenix Suns like a must-win…and winning is what the Lakers did, defeating the Suns 109-102 to tie the series up at 1-1.
Anthony Davis led the way for the Lakers with 34 points on 7-of-15 shooting from the field. He also grabbed 10 rebounds and dished out 7 assists in 40 minutes of play. Davis was berated by fans and the media after his performance in Game 1 and he knew what he had to do individually and what the Lakers needed to do as a team to get the victory.
“This was a must-win,” Davis said. “We all came out with that mindset and we were able to get the job done.”
“We’ve got to do a better job of holding leads, but we showed we’ll keep fighting,” Davis said.
Coach Frank Vogel was pleased with his team’s effort. Specifically his two superstars, James and Davis. Vogel knows he has the luxury of depending on two of the top superstars in the Association. He doesn’t take that for granted. Especially in situations like this.
“Those are two of the top five players in the NBA,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said. “We have a formula where those guys carry a big load, especially at crunch time.”
LeBron James scored 23 points on 9 of 16 shooting from the field. He also grabbed 4 rebounds and dished out nine assists in 39 minutes of play. James hit some big-time shots down the stretch in order to seal the victory for the Lakers. James showed that he has been here before in these types of situations. He was ready to answer the bell. James and the Lakers now look forward to returning home to the Staples Center to play in front of their home crowd.
“That’s what I came here for,” James said. “To be able to play a playoff game in front of the Lakers faithful.”
Other Lakers players stepped up to get the victory.
- Dennis Schroder scored 24 points, grabbed three rebounds, and dished out five assists.
- Andre Drummond scored 15 points and grabbed 12 rebounds.
- Marc Gasol scored six points but hit two big threes off of the bench.
The next game in the series is game 3 in Los Angeles at the Staples Center. It will be taking place Thursday, 5/27 at 10 pm Eastern/ 7 pm Pacific.
