Anthony Davis was, once again, unstoppable on Sunday night.
The Los Angeles Lakers center went off in Washington, leading them to a 130-119 win over the Wizards at Capital One Arena with an incredible statline. Davis dropped 55 points in the win while shooting 22-of-30 from the field. He added 17 rebounds, too, and was a perfect 9-of-9 from the free throw line.
Davis’ 55 points was just four shy of his career-high. He has 99 points over his last two games now, too — following the 44 he put up against the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday. That is the most scored by a Lakers player in that period since Kobe Bryant did so in 2007. He’s also the first Lakers player to score at least 40 points and have at least 10 rebounds in consecutive games since Shaquille O’Neal did so in 2000.
It hasn’t just been the last two games that Davis has looked great in. He’s averaged 34.2 points and 15.4 rebounds while shooting 63.3% over the Lakers’ last 10 games. The Lakers went 8-2 over that stretch.
"Just being healthy, going out with a mindset of just dominating," Davis said on his turnaround on Spectrum SportsNet. "I started off slow, took a couple games to get in-game shape, in-game rhythm. I've just been feeling really good and confident on all my shots, playing with a great pace. Guys have been doing a great job of finding me."
The Lakers led almost all the way through on Sunday. They took the lead after bouncing back and forth in the early minutes on a Troy Brown 3-pointer, and never looked back. They had an 18-point lead at halftime, and then held on after the Wizards cut it to single digits briefly in the fourth quarter to take the 11-point win. LeBron James added 29 points, and Lonnie Walker dropped 20 for the Lakers — who shot better than 54% from the field as a team.
Though it’s still early in the year, Davis’ play is certainly a welcome sign for a team that opened the season on a five-game losing skid and lost 10 of their first 12 games.
"He wants it. He wants to be that guy for the team," coach Darvin Ham said, via Spectrum SportsNet. "I think it's beautiful to watch, because his teammates are encouraging him, they're trying to get him the ball any and every possession. It's just been cool, man. He has everyone rallying around him, and I'm just thrilled by the way he's been playing."