Gallant AD wants Lakers to ‘make some noise’ after gritty win vs Wolves

Anthony Davis dusted off any pain in his left ankle as he marvelously charged the Los Angeles Lakers for an urgent victory against the Minnesota Timberwolves on the road, 123-111.

The star big man was down, mincing in pain in the third quarter but went on to will his way and dropped 38 points, with 17 coming from the final frame while shooting 7-for-10.

He also shattered the glass, tallying a game-high 17 boards against the towering frontcourt combo of Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert.

“I knew I was going to play regardless. Just that initial tweak — a little bit of pain,” Davis about his ankle.

“We’ve made some huge climbs, but we’re not finished … We know the position we’re in,” added by Davis. “We’re all hungry to not only make the playoffs but make some noise.”

Davis’ monstrous performance powered the Lakers (39-38) to deliver a jump towards the seventh place of the Western Conference, overtaking the Timberwolves, while surpassing the .500 win rate for the first time since January 2022.

LeBron James, for his part, chipped in 18 points and 10 boards while D’Angelo Russel had 12 markers and 10 dimes. Three other players logged double-digit scoring in Austin Reaves (15), Jarred Vanderbilt (12) and Dennis Schröder (11).

“Everyone knows that in order for us to be at the highest level and playing at the highest level, it all starts with AD,” coach Darvin Ham said in postgame. “ … We have a team that can make some things happen. But you have to have that one pivotal force that’s leading the charge, and in our case, with this particular team here in the moment, it’s AD.

“When he comes out and he’s aggressive and we’re feeding him and he’s not settling and he’s putting pressure on the paint, putting pressure on the rim, we find ourselves having a lot of success.”

The Minnesota win served as the fifth one out of the last six games for L.A.

With five games left to their regular season schedule, they remain capable to climb up even higher in the Conference board. As such, the Lakers will continue to rely on Davis’ leadership to see themselves their position in mid-April.

“I think he understood the assignment and knew how important this game was, and I think we all knew that,” James said. “We jumped on AD’s back and he brought us home.”