Los Angeles Lakers: 3 Lessons in an AD-led shocker over Phoenix

Anthony Davis sent a limo for the Phoenix Suns! 

It was going to be interesting to see how Anthony Davis would respond after his dominating 36 point, 12 rebound, 5 assist performance against the Blazers. That narrative was answered almost immediately after the game started.

This started an AD assault on the Suns frontline in the first quarter. Thanks to early foul trouble to Deandre Ayton, the Phoenix franchise got absolutely torched by Davis. He had 12 points (5-7 shooting!) in his first nine minutes.

The Los Angeles Lakers are going to need Anthony Davis to score close to 40 points a night to keep the ship righted until LeBron James and Dennis Schroder comes back. He was so assertive in the post he caused the Suns to make defensive adjustments such as doubling him and even going zone.

That allowed more freedom for the shooters as the team shot 13-30 from behind the arc.

Davis rode the momentum of a 22 point first half to a season high 42 points (13-27 shooting!), 12 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals and 3 blocks.

The biggest stats from the night came from the free throw line. AD knocked down 15-17 from the charity stripe. Last year when AD was tearing up the league, these were the numbers he was collecting. Getting to the line was a product of maniacal aggressiveness. He practically destroyed the Suns’ roster on this night.

Despite the double digit win, the Los Angeles Lakers allowed the Phoenix Suns to stick around a longer that they should have. The defense was outstanding (More on that later!) and multiple players helped AD in the scoring column. What was the problem? Read on to find out!