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Anthony Davis gave Los Angeles Lakers fans quite the fright at the end of the third quarter on Wednesday night against the San Antonio Spurs. The tall All-Star man, returning to the lineup for the first time since Dec. 16, fell to the ground and seemingly grabbed his ankle in pain in a scene that has sadly become all too familiar to Laker fans, but he got it up quickly, sunk three free throws and stayed in the game. Darwin ham even joked that he nearly passed out when he saw Davis on the floor, but in the end it was just a smile after Davis returned to the lineup after a five-week absence.
For the first time since joining the New Orleans Pelicans, Davis came off the bench in an NBA game. That didn’t slow him down one bit, and despite a minute limit, he led the Lakers in the standings. The final tally: 21 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks in just 26 minutes as the Lakers clinched their third win in four attempts.
“It’s been a long five and a half weeks,” Davis said after the game. “It feels good to come back, get a win and ultimately just be back on the ground with these guys.” Of course, it wasn’t just being back on the ground with old teammates. He was allowed to play with a new one for the first time on Wednesday when trade acquisition Rui Hachimura made his Lakers debut.
The results were encouraging. Hachimura, who also came off the bench despite reports suggesting he’ll start at some point, scored 12 points on seven shots while catching six rebounds and finishing with an 18-point plus as the team-leader. The Lakers, whose limited size was only exacerbated by the departure of Davis last month, finally had some length to get to the bottom defensively.
The results speak for themselves. The 104 points they allowed was the fewest they had given up since a Nov. 25 win over the same San Antonio Spurs. They still have a long way to go to integrate both Hachimura and get Davis back on track, but on Wednesday the Lakers gave the rest of the league a glimpse of what this full-strength team might look like. If James and Davis are healthy and they have a diverse group of supporting players, they’ll be able to hang out with just about anyone.