After LeBron James broke Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s scoring record on Tuesday against the Oklahoma City Thunder, some noticed that Anthony Davis didn’t seem happy for him.
Davis addressed the rumors that have surfaced about his poor body language during James’ historic moment, and he insisted that it had nothing to do with the four-time MVP.
AD on his bad mood on Tuesday: "Come on now, you know me and Bron's relationship…was sad about the game. I mean we're losing to the Oklahoma City Thunder, a game we needed, and I was pissed off that we were losing. It had nothing to do with Bron. He knows that."
— Lakers Daily (@LakersDailyCom) February 10, 2023
As James surged toward the record in the second and third quarters, the excitement at Crypto.com Arena was palpable, as it built toward a crescendo.
However, the balloon of excitement quickly popped shortly after he attained the record near the end of the third quarter, as the Lakers failed to adequately compete with a Thunder team that seemed inferior on paper.
Los Angeles looked flat in the fourth quarter, as James and Davis seemed practically invisible, while the entire team put up no resistance on the defensive end. Oklahoma City ended up scoring 133 points, making it the second straight game the Lakers gave up over 130 points, both of which were losses.
Afterward, reports surfaced that Russell Westbrook had gotten into an argument with head coach Darvin Ham after the guard took his time leaving the court late in the first half after being subbed out. Westbrook was traded the next day, and that argument was reportedly the final straw for the team, as tension had built up lately between both sides.
On Thursday against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks, Davis gobbled up 16 rebounds, but he shot just 9-of-22 from the field in a 115-106 loss. James sat out the contest with a bad left foot, and Davis failed to duplicate the type of dominant performance he had in the Lakers’ first meeting with the Bucks this season.
Los Angeles is now on a three-game losing streak, and it continues to lose ground in its pursuit of a playoff or play-in tournament spot in the Western Conference. After it pulled off a few big trades in the last two days, one would think it is going to be poised to make a big run the rest of the season, but time is running out.
