In his debut in an NBA Finals, Los Angeles Lakers superstar Anthony Davis put on a dominating performance, despite a number of double teams, as he led the Lakers to a convincing victory over the Miami Heat in Game 116-98.
Davis was unstoppable, scoring 34 points, grabbing 9 rebounds and blocking 3 shots as the Lakers dismantled the Heat in a game that got out of hand.
Davis made history with his debut performance, joining some legendary names in the process. Since the NBA-ABA merger (1976-77), only Allen Iverson (48 points), Kevin Durant (36 points) and Michael Jordan (36 points) have scored more points than Davis in their first NBA Finals game, and Davis is behind only Shaquille O’Neal’s 43 points and George Mikan’s 42 points for most points by a Lakers player making their NBA Finals debut.
“It’s a great honor to be in that category with those guys,” Davis said, according to ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk. “I mean, they have done so much for the game, Hall of Famers, and for me to come out and perform that way and be mentioned with those guys … obviously that’s a great honor, but I also want to be mentioned in categories with champions, so that’s the next step.”
Despite an early 13-point lead for the Heat, Davis’ performance toppled that lead and built a Laker lead that the Heat had no answers for.
“I don’t think in the beginning that we were physical enough,” Lakers forward Lebron James said. “You have to get a feel for how hard Miami plays. I think they smacked us in the mouth, and we got a sense of that. And so we knew how hard we had to play if we wanted to try to make it a game. You know, from that moment when it was 23-10, we started to play to our capabilities.”
“We have 48 hours to figure out what the next plan of attack will be,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said about defending Davis moving forward. “He was extremely good tonight, and we have to be better.”
“I expect it out of him,” James said of Davis’ performance. “Didn’t need to give him no advice. We’ve been preparing for this moment all season. He’s been preparing for this moment all season. I’m happy to be on the same floor with him and in the same uniform. He was, once again, a force in every facet of the game, offensively and defensively.”
“The best teacher in life is experience,” James said. “I’ve experienced moments in my career where you have all the momentum in the world and you felt like you had the game under control, and one play here or one play there could change the course of a series or change the course of a game.”
“First time I’m experiencing this,” Davis said. “Obviously want to come out and play well and you want to come out and win. I’ve always put pressure on myself. I had the same thing [during] Game 1 of the Western Conference finals, as well. When the ball gets tipped up, all that goes away and it’s just basketball, but everything leading up to it, you’re very excited.
“Your adrenaline is going early because you’re so excited just to be here and get ready to go out there and play. It went away early, but it was a great experience for me, great Game 1. Job is not done. We have three more.”
