Anthony Davis

The return of LeBron James and Anthony Davis from injuries wasn't enough to save the Los Angeles Lakers from their fifth straight loss Friday night as they.

We have to win these games, and we have to have that approach." Yet, as has often been the case for the Lakers throughout the season, their dominance wasn't quite enough. Since that point, they've gone 4-15 and watched their playoff chances shrink by the day. We don't play off hope and 'let's hope we win this game.' We have belief and I believe. We know the position that we're in. We know we're playing against some top teams.

Anthony Davis is not giving up hope of the Los Angeles Lakers making the playoffs despite a damaging defeat to the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday. Former ...

CJ McCollum scored 32 points, Brandon Ingram added 29 against his former team and the New Orleans Pelicans spoiled Anthony Davis' return from inj...

CJ McCollum had 32, Brandon Ingram 29, and those two killed it with mid-range shots. Late in the game, with the Lakers down one and needing to foul, they were ...

Late in the game, with the Lakers down one and needing to foul, they were slow to foul Valanciunas or Trey Murphy, and it took Westbrook fouling McCollum — one of the Pelicans’ best shooters and not the guy they wanted to foul. Los Angeles sits as the No. 11 seed, one game back of the Spurs and the final play-in spot in the West, but the Spurs have the tiebreaker, so it is in practice a two-game lead. The Lakers need to play out this string. This team seems poised to make a leap in the coming years. Davis had 23 points and 12 rebounds in his return to the court. Despite all the turmoil and missing players in New Orleans this year, that team found a way to make the postseason. But as it has been all season, the Lakers couldn’t sustain that momentum because of their weak defense. Russell Westbrook started the night 1-of-7 and sat with four fouls, and after an airball early in the fourth a Pelican player trash-talked him about it. The Pelicans were clutch, the Lakers were not. “The big picture was that it was pretty much a must-win for us and we didn’t get the job done,” LeBron said. But five turnovers in that stretch and some iffy defense meant the Lakers didn’t take advantage of the hot start, the Pelicans just hung around and even led at points. Then taking a lead into the game’s final minutes, the Lakers watched the Pelicans execute better, defend better, and Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum hit tough shots while LeBron and Davis were 0-of-5 in the final five minutes.

Is Lakers' Anthony Davis playing today vs. Nuggets? Ananth Pandian. • 6 min read. Anthony Davis Los Angeles Lakers. After a lengthy injury absence, Anthony Davis returned for the Los Angeles Lakers on April 1 against the New Orleans Pelicans.

Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis said he felt he needed to play against the New Orleans Pelicans because of what was at stake.

“The urgency was always there to get back. If the training staff could have their way, they would probably like Davis to sit a game before suiting up again but there is no way the Lakers can afford to have him out. The Lakers get a day off before having to play the Denver Nuggets, so all eyes will be on Davis’ recovery. That was my initial thought when I say that the foot wasn’t quite ready for me to go out and play knowing that the game in New Orleans was also a big game for us. I even wanted to play in the last New Orleans game as well. This was definitely a huge game for us, so I definitely didn’t want to sit out this game.

Despite the return of LeBron James and Anthony Davis, the Los Angeles Lakers blew a crucial game to the New Orleans Pelicans.

The Lakers blew a 23-point lead and lost. Afterward, LeBron — not for the first time this season — was blunt about his team’s shortcomings. He will be blamed (unfairly) for a trade that dismantled a championship-proven squad and hamstrung the team’s future. “We had great opportunities throughout the night, and we didn’t make enough plays down the stretch. Westbrook, a Los Angeles native, has been at odds with Lakers fans throughout the season. LeBron’s words are well and good, but they don’t align with the obvious, gradually deflated spirit of this group. The Lakers missed six of their last eight field-goal attempts, culminating in a LeBron air-ball at the buzzer. (The Lakers, by the way, haven’t won consecutive contests since the first week of January.) The Spurs will once again host the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday, while the banged-up Lakers will face Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets on Sunday afternoon (12:30 PT), less than 48 hours after the second leg of a home-road back-to-back. But they are a full game — really two, counting the tiebreaker — behind the San Antonio Spurs (32-45) with five games remaining. AD dropped 23 points and 12 rebounds but shot 1-of-5 in the final frame. The Pelicans then embarked on a 13-4 run.

A fan was ejected twice on Friday night during the Los Angeles Lakers' loss to the New Orleans Pelicans for heckling Anthony Davis.

Players are pushing harder and harder for fans to be booted for saying words with LeBron James frequently leading that charge. Right out of Larry David’s handbook when he quit SNL and then showed back up to work the next week like nothing happened But rather than leave the building, he returned to his seat and again took aim at Davis.

LeBron James and Anthony Davis say the Lakers are still focused on earning a play-in game bid to the playoffs despite string of losses.

We have to win these games and we have to have that approach.” So, we get an opportunity tomorrow to kind of decompress and have the day off, then get back at it.” To that point, I felt really good. “I felt good,” Davis said. So early start on Sunday. Hopefully it reacts the proper way for me in the morning when I wake up and I have no setbacks. So, for me, that’s the most important thing. That’s such a quick turnaround it’s ridiculous, so mental and physical recovery starts now. The recovery starts now. We don’t play off hope and ‘let’s hope we win this game.’ We have belief and I believe. “We know the position that we’re in. But our focus is going to be on what we can control and that’s winning the next game. “So, keep pushing forward.”

Lakers' Anthony Davis believes he and LeBron James can lead the team to a 5-0 finish and secure the final play-in spot.

Things are not looking good for the Purple and Gold. Despite forming a super-team, they still cannot make it to the play-in games. This means the Lakers need to have one more win than the Spurs before the regular season concludes. It was a crucial matchup, and this loss, in all likeliness, ended the Lakers’ chances at the final play-in spot.

LeBron James and Anthony Davis gave an update on their health after their returns against the Pelicans, and while both were experiencing some discomfort, ...

Knowing that the game in New Orleans was also a big game for us, I was just trying to come back as soon as possible, and was able to come back tonight.” “I think we have to believe. But like I said, the foot wasn’t quite ready for me to go out and play. The foot was just not participating,” Davis said. Our mindset is to go 5-0 in these games and let the chips fall where they may.” Hopefully it reacts the proper way for me in the morning when I wake up and I have no setbacks, so for me that’s the most important thing.”

Despite having both Anthony Davis and LeBron James at their disposal on Friday night, the Lakers dropped a crucial game at home to the Pelicans.

With five games remaining in the 2021-22 regular season, the Lakers’ postseason hopes are slipping away. “Our mindset is to go 5-0 in these games, and let the chips fall where they may,” Davis said, via ESPN. “We dropped this one. The hope is that Los Angeles can go undefeated in its next five games.

Anthony Davis speaks out after the Lakers suffered what could be a season-defining loss to the Pelicans on Friday.

They have five games remaining and according to AD, they will remain optimistic as the regular season winds down: This is barely the first time Davis was forced to sit out games due to injury. Davis returned to action for the first time since February 16th.