Davis came just short of the extremely rare 5×5 game in the process
• 2 min read
Anthony Davis wasn’t even sure if he was going to take the floor for the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday. He was initially listed as questionable against the Minnesota Timberwolves due to illness and left shoulder soreness. The injury gods ultimately smiled on Davis and the Lakers, though. Not only was he able to play, but the Minnesota Timberwolves were without both of their star big men in Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns. That positioned Davis for a big game, and boy, did he deliver.
The final line was staggering: 27 points, 25 rebounds, seven steals, five assists and three blocks. Hold onto your hats, folks, because a lot of history was made in this one:
- Davis became the first player in NBA history to reach 25 points, 25 rebounds, five steals and five assists in a single game.
- Davis became the first Laker to reach the 25-point, 25-rebound threshold since Shaquille O’Neal did it in 2004. He became the first player in the NBA to do so this season. The last players to accomplish the feat before Davis were Nikola Jokic and Ivica Zubac, both in 2022.
- Davis reached seven steals for the first time in a regular-season game. He has, however, reached seven steals in a playoff game, a first-round contest in 2023 against the Memphis Grizzlies.
- Davis tied his career-high of 10 offensive rebounds in a game. He last did it during the 2022-23 season against the Brooklyn Nets.
Sadly, Davis came up just shy of one of the sport’s most-coveted statistical milestones. He finished with three blocks. Had he reached five, he would have posted the 23rd five-by-five game in NBA history. Of course, missing out likely doesn’t bother Davis too much. After all, he posted the 20th five-by-five in 2018. Still, Davis could have become only the fourth player in league history to do so twice, joining Hakeem Olajuwon, Julius Erving and Andrei Kirilenko, so coming up short might sting a little.
Still, he can take solace in what was a fairly important win for the Lakers. At 36-30, they are now six games above .500 for the first time since they traded for Russell Westbrook. They remain two games behind the No. 8 seeded Dallas Mavericks in the loss column in the Western Conference standings, but they are three wins ahead of the No. 10 Golden State Warriors. They are 11-5 overall in their past 16 games and trending in the right direction after an uneven start to this season. If Davis can keep posting lines like this, the Lakers might actually be able to escape the play-in round entirely. All in all, not a bad day at the office for someone who almost didn’t play.
