Anthony Davis #3 of the Los Angeles Lakers in the second half at Crypto.com Arena on March 10, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. | Getty Images via AFP
Anthony Davis delivered a sensational game on the eve of his 31st birthday Sunday, scoring 27 points with 25 rebounds in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 120-109 NBA victory over Western Conference high-fliers Minnesota.
Davis added five assists, a career-high seven steals and three blocked shots for the Lakers, who are locked in a battle for a play-in berth.
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The Timberwolves came into the game second in the West and slipped to third, one and a half games behind conference leaders Oklahoma City.
The Thunder thumped the Memphis Grizzlies 124-93 in Oklahoma City. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 23 points and rookie Cason Wallace added 23 off the bench for the Thunder, who won their third straight.
There was some bad news for Oklahoma City, however, as Jalen Williams exited in the second quarter with a sprained right ankle.
The injury news looked even worse for the Houston Rockets, who rallied from a 13-point deficit to beat the Kings 112-104 in Sacramento.
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But they saw their leading scorer Alperen Sengun leave the court in a wheelchair after he fell awkwardly while challenging Domantas Sabonis under the basket in the final minute.
Rockets coach Ime Udoka said that Sengun was having X-rays on his right knee and the star center reportedly was scheduled for an MRI exam on his right knee and ankle on Monday.
Turkey’s Sengun is averaging a career-high 21.2 points and 9.4 rebounds per game.
“You hate to see that, especially so late in the game,” Udoka said. “It doesn’t diminish the win in general. I think it was one of our best road wins. (Sengun) had a huge part in that.”
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In Los Angeles, Davis and the Lakers took advantage of a depleted Timberwolves lineup. Four key absentees included Karl-Anthony Towns — sidelined indefinitely after knee surgery — and center Rudy Gobert, who sat out with a tight hamstring.
“No matter who’s playing for them, they’re a very good team,” said Davis, who became the first NBA player with at least 25 points, 25 rebounds and five steals in a game.
“Even though they had a good second quarter, we wanted to come out in the second half and set the tone defensively, which we did.”
Davis pulled down 21 rebounds in the second half and LeBron James scored 21 of his 29 points after the break to help the Lakers pull away in a close game.
Naz Reid and Anthony Edwards scored 25 points apiece for the Timberwolves, who drained 16 three-pointers but were out-scored 29-17 in the fourth.
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‘Extremely crucial’
Action at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles opened Sunday with the Milwaukee Bucks’ 124-117 victory over the Clippers.
Damian Lillard scored 35 points and Giannis Antetokounmpo added 34 for Milwaukee, who had opened their California road trip with defeats against Golden State and the Lakers.
“It was extremely crucial,” Lillard said of turning things around on the Western swing that will continue with a game at Sacramento on Tuesday.
In a back-and-forth battle that featured 28 lead changes, Lillard scored 16 points in the fourth quarter to help the Bucks pull away late against a Clippers team playing without Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.
Both sat out to rest nagging injuries as the Clippers played a game that tipped off less than 24 hours after their 112-102 victory over Chicago on Saturday.
In other games, the Philadelphia 76ers beat the New York Knicks 79-73 at Madison Square Garden, holding the Knicks to the lowest points total in the NBA this season.
Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the 76ers, who are still awaiting NBA Most Valuable Player Joel Embiid’s return from knee surgery. All-Star Tyrese Maxey missed his fourth game because of a concussion.
In an NBA season that has seen scoring skyrocket, the game was the first since 2016 in which both teams scored fewer than 80 points. It also came less than two months after Embiid erupted for 70 in a victory over the San Antonio Spurs.