Unlike his teammate LeBron James, Anthony Davis had never played in the NBA Finals prior to Wednesday night.
Based on his performance in Game 1 between the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat, he’s going to fare just fine on basketball’s biggest stage.
Davis had 34 points, nine rebounds, five assists and three blocks as the Lakers rolled to a 116-98 victory over the Heat. James, his All-Star teammate, had 25 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists.
“First time I’m experiencing this,” Davis said. “Obviously want to come out and play well, and you want to come out and win. I’ve always put pressure on myself. I had the same thing Game 1 of the Western Conference finals, as well. When the ball gets tipped up, all that goes away and it’s just basketball, but everything leading up to it, you’re very excited. Your adrenaline is going early because you’re so excited just to be here and get ready to go out there and play. It went away early but it was a great experience for me, great Game 1.”
Already trailing 1-0 in the series, Miami faces an uphill battle to win four of the next six remaining games (if needed) as point guard Goran Dragic was diagnosed with a torn plantar fascia in his left foot following the game and All-Star center Bam Adebayo aggravated a shoulder strain that required him to leave in the third quarter.
“We’re much better than we showed tonight,” said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra. “You have to credit the Lakers, and we’ll get to work for the next one.”
Game 2 of the series is Friday night.
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