Anthony Davis Says ‘Terrible’ Lakers Defense Must Improve After Loss to Mavericks

A miserable Sunday afternoon saw the Los Angeles Lakers lose at home to the Dallas Mavericks, with Lakers forward Anthony Davis bluntly criticizing his team’s poor defensive effort.

The loss was only the third this season for the Lakers, who struggled during the second and third quarters by giving up 69 points in that span. An angry Davis indicated that the performance should serve as motivation to avoid another loss in their next game.

“Our whole thing is we don’t want to lose two in a row,” said Davis. “Ever.”

He went on to specifically identify a few areas the Lakers needed to improve.

“Our defense was terrible today — we didn’t rebound the basketball therefore we keep giving them second-chance points and they made us pay with 3s,” Davis said. “We know what we did wrong.”

Davis once again delivered on an individual level with a double-double with 27 points and 10 rebounds, while also blocking two shots and dishing out a pair of assists. However, the Lakers as a team were dominated on the offensive boards, with the Mavericks holding a 16-9 edge in that department.

The 114-100 defeat stopped the Lakers’ 10-game winning streak and marked their first loss since Nov. 10, when they suffered their only other home loss by dropping a 113-104 decision to the Toronto Raptors.

The Lakers’ 17-3 record currently matches the Milwaukee Bucks for the best record in the NBA.

Davis and the Lakers will have a stiff challenge to avoid that second consecutive loss. On Tuesday night, they begin a three-game road trip by facing the Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets have the second-best record in the Western Conference at 13-4 and have won eight of their 10 home games this season.