Anthony Davis referred to his own performance as “terrible” and took full responsibility for the Los Angeles Lakers’ Sunday loss to the New York Knicks.
Due to the narrow loss, the Lakers are now 33-35 in the race for a playoff spot in the West, missing the opportunity to get back to.500.
Davis struggled to lead the team without LeBron James, managing just 17 points and 16 rebounds while making just one of five free throw attempts.
In addition to his eight-of-18 field goal shooting, Davis had four assists, two steals, a block, and four rebounds. The power forward claimed that “my play” was to blame for the team’s defeat.
“I played terrible,” Davis told reporters. “Couldn’t find my shot: free throws, layups, everything. The guys did their job. I didn’t do my job.”
Davis had little impact down the stretch with the game up for grabs, shooting one-of-four from the field.
“I just missed a lot of shots,” he said. “I don’t think they did anything special. A lot of times one-on-one, they doubled a couple of times.”
The Lakers’ three-game winning streak may have been halted, but there was some good news with James, who was out of a walking boot and rejoined the team.
The four-time MVP has not played since February 26 and will be re-evaluated next week, potentially offering the Lakers a major boost in their push for the playoffs if they can stay in contention in the meantime.
“It’s also good for him to unplug a little bit,” Lakers head coach Darvin Ham said about James’ break. “Not be detached necessarily, but just mentally get a little bit of a calming to everything that’s transpired over the year.
“It’s not just about him getting healthy, it’s about him being in a good place mentally and spiritually, so we get the best version of him when he returns.”
The Lakers (33-35) are 11th in the Western Conference, which is tightly contested from the fourth-placed Phoenix Suns (37-30) down to the 12th-placed New Orleans Pelicans (33-35)
Tough end to the homestand. pic.twitter.com/2jRz75S4Uy
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) March 13, 2023