Lakers’ Davis channeling Bryant in quest for NBA title
Anthony Davis’ game-winning shot on Sunday was followed by him shouting, “Kobe!”
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – Anthony Davis ran toward the Los Angeles Lakers bench and yelled “Kobe!”
A second earlier, Davis — wearing the Kobe Bryant “Mamba” Lakers uniform — swished a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Lakers a 105-103 victory over the Denver Nuggets in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals Sunday night.
L.A. takes a 2-0 series lead into Tuesday’s Game 3 (9 p.m., ET, TNT).
“Obviously wearing the jerseys, he’s hit countless shots like that to win games, whether it’s in the playoffs, Finals,” Davis said. “But it was a special one for me. Special one for my teammates.”
When the Lakers break a huddle, Lakers coach Frank Vogel says “one, two, three” and then players yell “Mamba.”
“Well, we want to embody what Kobe Bryant stood for and honor his memory,” Vogel said. “Obviously, there are certain games where we are going to feel it a little bit more than others. When we have that uniform on, I think we feel it more than others. That’s a shot Kobe Bryant would hit.
“To me, AD coming off just flying to the wing like that, catch-and-shoot with the biggest game on the line of our season, nothing but net, it’s a Mamba shot.”
The Lakers are trying to a win a championship for themselves but also to honor the memory of Bryant, who died in a helicopter crash on Jan. 26.
“Every time we put on those jerseys, obviously we’re representing him,” Davis said. “Especially in those jerseys, it’s his jersey, one he created, and any time we put it on we want to win. Coach made sure that we knew that in the huddle.
“He said, ‘Look at the jerseys you have on. He would have made big-time plays. So it’s time for us to make big-time plays,’ like with six minutes left in the game. ... So just looking down at the jersey and coach telling us, it’s a constant reminder that Kobe is with us, and we kind of have the spirit in those jerseys.”
Davis had never played in the conference finals until Friday. He scored 37 points and collected 10 rebounds in Game 1 and followed it up with 31 points and nine rebounds in Game 2. “Having this team and coaching staff that believes in you to make plays like that and to draw plays up for you, to make you take those big shots,” Davis said, “puts a lot of confidence in myself and confidence in my game where I can go up and make those type of plays.”
Just like Kobe Bryant did.