Los Angeles Lakers big man Anthony Davis hailed LeBron James after they thrashed Atlanta Hawks by 136-105 on Monday night. LeBron James scored 25 points, 10 assists, and seven rebounds, and D’Angelo Russell had 27 points to play a key role in a massive win.
Anthony Davis had 22 points and 15 rebounds as the Lakers ended their two-match losing streak.
“Bron is Bron, and it’s that time of the year,” Davis said. “He’s shooting the ball extremely well. He’s been in attack mode, finding guys. He’s been locking in defensively.”
Meanwhile, D’Angelo Russell scored six 3-pointers against the Hawks, which took his season’s tally to 183, helping him surpass Kobe Bryant’s record of 180 in the 2005-06 season and matching Nick Van Exel’s franchise record set in 1994-95.
“That’s really cool, honestly,” Russell said. “Just to get credit for your game and what you work to do and showcase it every night, and then to get credit for something like this, it’s just really cool.”
Meanwhile, Davis left Saturday’s loss to Golden State early with a scratched cornea in his left eye but he was able to get back to action.
“I’ve been through that phase in high school,” said a grinning Davis. “I’m out of that phase. Obviously (I would have had surgery) if the doctors had told me I needed it, but I didn’t need it.”
Atlanta coach Quin Snyder admitted that the Lakers made them pay for their mistakes and they were the better team in the end.
“I thought we were ready to play, (but) there’s two Hall of Fame players that were unselfish, and I thought they played really well,” Atlanta coach Quin Snyder said. “It’s hard to sustain a defensive effort against a team that’s playing the way they are offensively. When the ball isn’t going in, it’s even harder. They made us pay for any mistake we made.”
The Lakers will next take on the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday night.