NBA Playoffs 2021: LeBron James and Anthony Davis lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a Game 2 victory.

 

 

The title defence has regained momentum.

In Game 2, the Los Angeles Lakers were led by LeBron James and Anthony Davis in the fourth quarter to a 109-102 victory over the Phoenix Suns.The Lakers have now clinched the crucial road split in the first two games and will return to STAPLES Center in Los Angeles with home court advantage.

Let’s get right to some of the key takeaways from the Lakers’ impressive victory.

AD keeps his promises.

After a poor performance in Game 1, Lakers superstar Anthony Davis blamed himself and promised to improve in Game 2.

In this game, he finished with 34 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, and three blocks.

Davis described his mental state prior to tip as “locked in.” “I’m aware that my performance (in Game 1) was abysmal.”

“I can’t have a performance like that in order for us to win a series or a game, so I put it on myself. I wanted to come out tonight and make a statement.”

That statement was made loud and clear by a force on both ends of the floor.

LeBron’s jumpshot arsenal remains valuable

LeBron hasn’t been renowned for being a knockdown jumpshooter throughout his career, but he has been renowned for making the big shots.

With the Suns attempting to tie Game 2 in the second half, LeBron went to his scoring package, hitting a sequence of tough jumpshots.

Turnarounds, fading out of bounds, and stepbacks were all present before delivering the final dagger on a pull-up dribble to his left with 49.3 seconds remaining.

James, who is averaging 2.3 3-pointers per game at 36% this season, connected on four of his nine attempts in this one, proving that no matter what he does during the regular season, his jumpshot is always a major threat in the clutch.

Lakers superstar LeBron James finished with 23 points, four rebounds, nine assists, and two steals.

Phoenix’s hopes are dependent on CP3’s health.

Chris Paul was clearly less than 100 percent in Game 2 after suffering what the team described as a right shoulder contusion in Game 1.

In Game 2, Paul played only 22 minutes and finished with six points, three rebounds, and five assists. The Suns were robbed of one of the league’s most clutch players down the stretch when he checked out for the final time with 7:01 remaining in a tight fourth quarter. The score was 86-86 when the veteran guard left the game. Los Angeles would go on to defeat Phoenix 23-16 the rest of the way, as a disappointed Paul looked on.

It’s the latest in a seemingly never-ending string of postseason injuries for Paul, with the Phoenix Suns’ chances of extending their incredible season reliant on his ability to return to full health.

Every hour of rest and recovery for CP3 is crucial, thus the squad will now take one night off.

Payne’s incredible comeback is still going strong.

Cam Payne, a Suns guard, tried his best to fill the vacuum left by Paul’s absence, scoring 19 points and dishing out seven assists in 32 minutes off the bench.

Payne, who was on the outside looking in prior to last year’s NBA bubble, has been outstanding since joining the Suns.

He performed under the spotlight, tying his third-highest scoring performance of the season with 19 points, while his minute total surpassed 30 for the first time in 2020-21.

Schroder has regained his form.

While Davis and James were both out for prolonged periods of time leading up to the playoffs, the Lakers were also without their main point guard, Dennis Schroder.

After missing seven games due to health and safety procedure, Schroder had his finest game since returning, scoring 24 points on 8-for-16 shooting in his fourth game back.

With Schroder in the lineup, the Lakers have a trustworthy second playmaker next to LeBron who can also function in the pick-and-roll, forcing the defence to answer more questions than they could before.

He made two of his four long-range attempts, providing the Lakers some much-needed punch in a game where they really needed it.