LeBron James hailed a "monster game" from Anthony Davis, who battled through illness to help the Lakers return to their winning ways against the Nuggets.
Davis required intravenous fluids at halftime of Tuesday's 105-96 road victory after being one of several Lakers players to suffer from flu-like symptoms. The 26-year-old put on a fine all-round display, though, contributing 25 points and 10 rebounds as the Lakers recovered from their recent loss to the Mavericks.
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James said Davis' contribution was just par for the course since he joined the Lakers in the offseason.
"He's been doing it all year," said James, who himself contributed 25 points, nine assists and six rebounds. "Playing through injuries, playing through illness like he did tonight. [He's the] Defensive Player of the Year, and he showed tonight once again playing one-on-one versus 'Joker' [Nikola Jokic] in the post. When there were switches, going on with Jamal Murray.
"He got stop after stop after stop. It was just a monster game for him."
AD's crunch-time defense on Jokic and Murray 😳 pic.twitter.com/aQrTlnf8nw
— Joey Ramirez (@JoeyARamirez) December 4, 2019
For his part, Davis insists his illness had no bearing on the way he tried to play.
"I just tried to fight and do whatever I can to help the team win," Davis said. "I felt like I could give it a go, and I was able to contribute as much as I can and get the win. [The sickness] didn't factor in. I was trying just to make the right play. Not trying to force anything. I think the shots that I had were good shots. But I was kind of overthinking it a little bit.
"Not because of illness, but the way they were playing me. And then just trying to be aggressive in the second through fourth quarters. Just trying to get my team going, get them some looks and get myself some looks. So, the illness didn't really play a big part that I thought it would, especially playing in Denver in the altitude."
Lakers coach Frank Vogel described Davis' performance as "something special."
"He just felt lousy the last two days. He comes in and has a Defensive Player of the Year type of performance," Vogel said. "He's guarding their two best players, Jokic, single coverage, everybody's staying home and Jamal Murray taking him to the basket and he's making defensive play after defensive play.
"And he was outstanding. For him to play through illness and have that kind of performance was something special."