Davis Debuts in Mavericks Win Over Rockets; Lakers Won Over Pacers Sans Doncic, Lebron
By Teodoro Medina Reynoso
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 09 Feb 2025
Anthony Davis finally made his debut for Dallas, topping with 26 points and 16 rebounds in the Mavericks 116-105 home win over the struggling Houston Rockets.
However, trade opposite Luka Doncic has yet to play his first with Los Angeles due to calf injury and despite Lebron James joining him in the sick bay, the Lakers still won over the visiting Indiana Pacers, 124-117 with Austin Reaves scoring a high 45 points.
As was first reported, Davis got to play his old power forward position with Daniel Gafford tending the slot in the absence of the injured main big man Derrick Lively III. That inspired Davis and with him playing well alongside former teammate Maxie Christie who followed up his fine game yesterday with 25 points, the Lakers broke the game wide open in the first half posting a 65-48 lead.
Houston fought back hard through center Alperen Sengun who topped for the Rockets with 30 points in collaboration with Jalen Green (24) and Amen Thompson (20) to bring the gap to manageable levels by the middle of the third quarter.
But Klay Thompson, Naji Marshall and Kyrie Irving made their presence felt and foiled every attempt of Houston to close the gap with timely baskets as Dallas finished with plenty to spare. Marshall poured 16 points while Irving and Thompson scored 13 points each and Spencer Dinwiddle added 10 points.
Four other Rockets in Dillon Brooks, Tari Eason, Cam Whitmore and Steven Adams made considerable contributions to Houston's cause but none hit double figures in scoring though relief center Adams supported Sengun in the paint by corralling 12 rebounds. The Rockets were without veteran guard Fred Van Fleet who could have helped in scoring and spreading the floor.
The win raised Dallas record to 28-25 still 8th while the loss, fifth straight for Houston, saw its record drop to 32-20, now 5th in the West.
The surprise of the day was Los Angeles victory over Indiana despite missing both Lebron and Doncic.
Reaves (45) and Riu Hachimura (24) carried the fight for the Lakers with firepower support from Gabe Vincent (12) and Jordan Goodwin (11) and continued steady performance of center Jaxson Hayes who accounted for 9 points and 12 rebounds.
Indiana was led by Pascal Siakam with 23 points and he was backed up by Tyrese Halliburton (19), Bernard Mathurin (16) and Obi Toppin (14). But ace guard Andrew Nembrand scored only 2 points. The Pacers also missed ace center Myles Turner alfhough relief center Thomas Bryant managed 13 points and 8 boards.
The victory, LA's 12fh in 15 games upped its record to 31-19, well within its target of top four in the West while Indiana impaired to 29-22, still fourth in the East.
The author Teodoro Medina Reynoso is a veteran boxing radio talk show host living in the Philippines. He can be reached at teddyreynoso@yahoo.com and by phone 09215309477.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Teodoro Medina Reynoso.
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