Inside a mostly quiet Lakers locker room late Wednesday night, the biggest concern was about the status of Anthony Davis and his availability for their close-out Game 6 on Friday against the Golden State Warriors at Crypto.com Arena.
Davis had departed the game with 7 minutes and 34 seconds left at Chase Center. He had been hit on the side of his head by an inadvertent elbow from Warriors forward Kevon Looney as they battled for rebounding position while D’Angelo Russell scored on a layup . Davis fell to the court holding his head. He eventually got up and took a seat on the Lakers’ bench, but eventually went to the locker room and never returned.
The Lakers were down 14 at that moment and went on to lose 121-106, but they still own a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series and can knock the defending NBA champion Warriors out of the playoffs with a victory Friday night at home.
That will be the Lakers’ main focus — with or without Davis.
“That we have another opportunity,” LeBron James said about the approach the Lakers will have to take. “Obviously, they played exceptionally well here tonight, and we had some good moments, but not as close to 48 minutes as we needed to be, but we’ve got another opportunity on Friday, and we look forward to the matchup again.”
The Lakers went down this same road in the first round against the Memphis Grizzlies, needing to win Game 6 at home, getting the job done in sizzling fashion.
But the Warriors are a totally different team.
They have the NBA’s best all-time shooter in Stephen Curry, who had 27 points and eight assists in Game 5. They have champions Klay Thompson (10 points) and Draymond Green (20 points and 10 rebounds).
Those three, along with Warriors coach Steve Kerr, are the core of Golden State’s championship group and they won’t be an easy out.
“Every moment is its own challenge and is its own game and is its own opportunity to see what you’re made of, and we can’t base last series onto this series,” James said. “This series is different. The opponent is different. The challenges is different.
“Friday is another opportunity for us to see where we are, to see what we’re made of, and to go out there with I guess the grit and the fight that we’ve had since we came together after the All-Star break, very resilient team, and we respond well to adversity, and we look forward to that, to getting an opportunity to play again on Friday.”
The Lakers have been on their game at Crypto.com Arena when it mattered the most.
They beat the Minnesota Timberwolves in the NBA’s play-in game at home. They beat the Grizzlies all three times at home. They beat the Warriors in Games 3 and 4.
Now, the Lakers have a chance to extend their winning streak in front of their fans to 7-0 during the most critical juncture of the season.
Lakers forward LeBron James, left, drives to the basket against Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins during Game 5.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
“Well, we didn’t handle our business tonight, so I look forward to seeing our fans for another game in the second round,” James said. “You know, those games are out the window. It’s over and done with. Our job is to try to be 1-0 on Friday. I look forward to that opportunity.”
When the Lakers played Memphis in Game 6, they said the approach was to take it as a Game 7 because they didn’t want to return to Memphis.
It worked, as the Lakers won by 40.
James was asked after he had scored 25 points and grabbed nine rebounds, will that be the mentality for Game 6 against the Warriors.
“Yeah, it’s the same,” James responded. “It’s the same.”
For the Lakers that means win Game 6 or return here for a Game 7 on Sunday.
This story originally appeared on LA Times
