Anthony Davis stars as Lakers teammate LeBron James is feted in Cleveland

LOS ANGELES – It was billed as a homecoming celebration for LeBron James, but his teammate Anthony Davis stole the show with 23 of his season-high 32 points in the second half on Nov 25 as the Los Angeles Lakers earned a third straight road win with a hard-fought 121-115 victory over the Cavaliers in Cleveland.

Said James: “Tonight was an A.D. game for us. He needs to touch the ball, and we want him to be aggressive offensively and anchor our defence.

“He did a great job attacking the basket and guarding the glass.”

Davis added 13 rebounds and three blocked shots, helping the Lakers overcome a slow shooting night from James against his former club, who honoured the league’s all-time leading scorer with a video tribute in the first quarter.

On the festivities, the four-time National Basketball Association champion, 38, told ESPN: “Spent 11 years here and being able to come back after my Miami stint and win a championship here for this franchise, for this city, I think it was a 52-year (title) drought or something like that in the city of Cleveland for any sports team, I think that was just something that I will never forget, no matter how old I get.

“I’ll always remember that moment... Stepping back on this floor is always a pretty cool feeling, looking up there and pretty much being a part of all of the banners in this arena.”

James connected on just eight of 23 shots – including one of nine from three-point range – on the way to 22 points in a nip-and-tuck game that featured nine lead changes and never saw either team push their lead to double digits.

The Cavs’ 40-point first quarter saw them up by just five, and they led 71-70 at half-time.

Davis’ lay-up – after he rebounded a James miss, put the Lakers up 111-103 with 3min 48sec to play.

The Cavaliers cut the deficit to one with less than two minutes remaining, but James drove for a jump shot, came up with a steal and threw down a dunk as the Lakers held on.

“We just had to impose our will in the defensive end,” Davis said, acknowledging the Lakers benefited from the second-half absence of Cleveland’s Darius Garland, who departed early with a neck injury.

But he hailed a “total team win” after seven of the eight Lakers players scored in double figures.

Donovan Mitchell, back after missing four games with a hamstring injury, finished with 22 points and Jarrett Allen added 21 points and 14 rebounds for the Cavs.

Said forward Evan Mobley, who had 18 points, six rebounds and six assists: “We didn’t play how we wanted to the entire game and we didn’t complete the mission. They were executing their plays and we weren’t down the stretch. It’s disappointing.”

It was also a good night for the Lakers’ city rivals.

Paul George scored 25 points and Terance Mann added a season-high 17 as the Los Angeles Clippers turned in a dominant performance to beat the visiting Dallas Mavericks 107-88.

Norman Powell had 15 points and Russell Westbrook finished with 14 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the Clippers, who never trailed after the game’s opening minutes and won for the fourth time in their last five games. Ivica Zubac added 11 points and a season-high 14 rebounds.

Luka Doncic scored 30 points to lead Dallas, who trailed by as many as 24 in the third quarter and lost for the third time in their last four games. Kyrie Irving added 26 points and Tim Hardaway Jr had 12.

The Clippers rolled to the convincing victory despite an off night by star Kawhi Leonard, who scored eight points on two-of-12 shooting and missed all five of his three-point attempts.

James Harden, who also had just eight points, said: “That’s the beauty of this team. On any given night, we’ve got guys that can step up and contribute, whether it’s with scoring or whether it’s other things.” AFP