Fans stood and roared with excitement during the third quarter Friday like they just saw LeBron James jam the ball through the basket with rim-shaking force, or Anthony Davis reject a Phoenix Suns dunk attempt.
Neither actually happened.
The multitaskers in the building just watched Freddie Freeman’s perfect left-handed swing send a baseball over the Dodger Stadium wall, the World Series Game 1 walk-off getting Crypto.com Arena as loud as it had been all night.
Then, it was the Lakers’ turn to ignite that excitement.
Like he did in the season opener, Davis played like the best player on the court, the fans chanting “M-V-P” for him in the fourth quarter like he just took the New York Yankees’ Nestor Cortes deep. Davis dominated the Suns, outpacing Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, helping his Lakers come back from 22 points down in a 123-116 win.
It’s first time the Lakers have opened the season with consecutive wins since the 2010-11 season.
“I’m just going out there playing basketball,” Davis said. “Obviously, the team is doing a good job giving me the ball in my spots. It’s easier when guys are making shots and making plays. Just kind of … opens up the floor for me. We put in a lot of good schemes where we open the floor for myself, [James], [Austin Reaves], [D’Angelo Russell]. And we just operate, make the right play.”
Davis scored 35 points after scoring 36 in the opener against the Minnesota Timberwolves, back-to-back dominant games against two of the Western Conference favorites.
“He’s been doing this,” Reaves said. “It’s not [abnormal] for him to do what he’s been doing. I feel like he’s the best player on our team. And we played through him. And he’s such a high-level talent that I expect him to go out every single night and be dominant. So what he’s been doing is kind of, it’s unreal obviously, but I expect him to go dominate the game in many facets.”
Unlike the opener, the Lakers gave Davis air support from the outside, making 14 of 27 shots from three-point range, including 13 for 22 after the first quarter. They withstood the Suns’ hot shooting early to begin their climb back into the game starting late in the second.
Reaves made five of seven threes and finished with 26 points.
“Same thing I’ve seen from AR since he got here,” James said. “Just an ultra-competitor, makes big-time shots and doesn’t shy away from the moment.”
Coach JJ Redick went further.
“I knew he was good,” Redick said of Reaves. “I didn’t realize he was this good. He’s a fantastic basketball player.”
Davis’ blocked shot just before halftime gave the Lakers momentum into the third quarter when James and Reaves got hot from deep and opened the inside for Davis.
James helped seal the game late with two assists — one to Gabe Vincent for a layup and one to Rui Hachimura for a three — to get the crowd to pop again. James finished with 21 points and eight assists.
But none of it was quite like the roar after Freeman went deep.
“I thought they were cheering for me,” Reaves said. “I didn’t know what was going on, to be honest. And then I looked up on the screen and seeing him hit that nuke.”
The Lakers host the Sacramento Kings on Saturday night with James planning to play for the second straight night.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
