Anthony Davis preaches ‘urgency’ as Lakers lose critical game to Pelicans

By Zach Stevens
Updated: February 4, 2023

Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

The Los Angeles Lakers have been having major problems winning close games, and on Saturday, they lost yet another to the New Orleans Pelicans, 131-126, despite a dominant performance from Anthony Davis.

After the contest, he said the team has a high sense of urgency, but that it needs to translate that into wins right now.

“Sense of urgency is very high,” said Davis after the Lakers loss to the Pelicans. “It has to happen now…put a streak together very quickly.”

Los Angeles came into Saturday’s tilt with a nascent two-game winning streak, and it had the opportunity to end its five-game road trip with a winning record.

It had the lead for much of the contest, and it led by as many as a dozen points at one point. But things started to turn upside-down late in the third quarter, as it saw its lead trimmed from eight to three in a matter of seconds.

Down the stretch, the Lakers couldn’t stop Brandon Ingram, who had 35 points and eviscerated everyone who tried to guard him. They ultimately gave up 70 points in the second half.

Defense has certainly been a problem for the Purple and Gold lately, despite Davis’ return and the trade for Rui Hachimura, which has suddenly given the team ample size up front.

On Saturday, Davis had 34 points, 14 rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots in his latest explosion against his old team.

The Lakers keep shooting themselves in the foot by losing close games and failing to inch closer to getting into the Western Conference playoff picture. With the conference seemingly wide open, they could easily be in the top eight right now if they had simply won a few of the games they should’ve won over the past month or so.

They will return home and play the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday and the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday. It is seemingly inevitable that LeBron James will surpass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and become the NBA’s all-time leading scorer in either game, and the event is sure to draw in fans and media en masse from across the globe.