LeBron James, Anthony Davis Join Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal in Lakers Scoring History

The scoring output from both LeBron James and Anthony Davis in the past two games has been historical.

In fact, their output has matched a scoring effort for the Los Angeles Lakers that hadn’t been achieved since the legendary duo of Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant accomplished it in March 2003.

James and Davis combined for 70 points in Friday night’s road win against the Portland Trail Blazers, then followed it up with Davis’ 50 points and an additional 32 from James in Sunday night’s home victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Back on March 26, 2003, O’Neal teamed with Bryant for 70 points, followed two nights later by the duo putting up 81 points between them.

In both cases, one player delivered a performance of 50 points or more. On Sunday night, Davis tossed in 50 points after having tallied 39 in a Friday night contest. Back in 2003, Bryant’s 55-point effort had followed up his 31 points in the earlier matchup.

Davis entered rare territory with his 50-point outburst, becoming only the third Laker in this decade to reach that threshold. Not surprisingly, the previous two players to reach that threshold were Bryant and James.

Such performances were clearly what the Lakers had in mind when they made a huge trade to acquire Davis during the past offseason. Teaming with James, who signed as a free agent last year, has thus far gone smoothly, with the Lakers now having a league-best record of 21-3 on the season.

“It’s been fun. When you’ve got two players who are very selfless who just want the best for the other player, it’s very easy,” Davis said, via Spectrum SportsNet. “I’m looking for him. He’s looking for me. We continue to learn off each other, where we like to score the basketball … We’re going to continue to get better at it, but it’s looking good right now.”

The Lakers will look to continue that fun later this week as they begin a five-game road trip, beginning with two games in the Sunshine State. On Wednesday night, the Lakers will face the Orlando Magic, followed by a Friday night clash against the Miami Heat.