The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Golden State Warriors 104-101 Monday night to take a commanding 3-1 lead in their Western Conference semifinal series. It was a tight game all the way, with a ton of key plays that could have changed the outcome, but one sequence of events trumps them all. On two possessions with less than a minute to go, Anthony Davis played lockdown defense on Stephen Curry, forcing bad shots that Curry missed. What Davis was able to do was incredible.
The Lakers led 102-101 with 38 seconds remaining. Curry had the ball and after an Andrew Wiggins screen, Davis took Curry, while LeBron James stuck with Wiggins. Curry maneuvered to the middle of the floor a few feet behind the 3-point line and tried to break Davis down off the dribble. Curry momentarily lost the handle, regained it, then tried to get some space. The Brow refused to give any. Eventually Curry took a long, fadeaway jumper off one foot from inside the arc. It rattled the rim and came out, with Draymond Green securing the offensive rebound.
Green immediately kicked the ball back out to Curry and Davis closed out on him quickly. Curry settled himself crossed over twice then pulled up from several feet beyond the 3-point line almost even with the mid-court logo. Davis contested brilliantly, and the shot clanged off the left side of the rim. Lonnie Walker IV grabbed the rebound and was fouled with 15 seconds remaining.
Check this out:
Just incredible effort by Davis there.
Walker made both his free throws to give the Lakers a 104-101 lead, then Green made an inexplicable decision to end any chance the Warriors had to win it.
Much has been made of Davis' lack of durability over the course of his career, but there's no denying that when he's on the court he's among the best players on the planet. And there may not be a better defender in the NBA when he's healthy.
This article was originally published on thebiglead as Anthony Davis' Late-Game Defense on Stephen Curry Was Immaculate.
