Davis vows to bounce back after tough shooting night

Anthony Davis got the ball in the usual spots in the usual situations in Game 2 of the Lakers’ first-round playoff series against the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday at Fedex Forum. The double-teaming defenses he faced from the Grizzlies also were nothing out of the ordinary.

What was different was what happened after Davis released the ball.

It didn’t go into the basket. Again and again and again.

Davis scored 13 points on 4-for-14 shooting in the Lakers’ 103-93 loss to the Grizzlies that tied the best-of-7 series at one victory each. He missed eight of his first nine shots as the Lakers trailed 59-44 by halftime, a deficit they could not overcome despite a second-half rally.

“I like all the shots I took, I just missed them,” Davis said. “Obviously, I can be better. I can’t have a night like I had (Wednesday) and expect us to win. But we’ll look at the film for the next couple of days and be ready for Saturday. Make some adjustments and try to get a win at home.”

In fact, Davis’ shots were similar to those he got in the Lakers’ victory in Game 1 on Sunday, when he scored 22 points on 10-of-17 shooting. He faced pressure from the Grizzlies that was more or less the same in each game, although Memphis played with increased intensity in Game 2.

“Just try to make it easier for him,” Lakers guard Austin Reaves said when asked what could be done in Game 3 on Saturday to ease Davis’ burden. “Get him the ball in better spots. We got him the ball in a couple of tough spots where he had to make a shot over two or three people.

“Just give him a little bit more space and opportunity to play his game. I mean, he’s got so much talent, if you give him that (more time and space), he’s really hard to stop. They did well defensively. We’ll watch the tape and see what we can do to help the whole group (offensively).”

Davis said he would “flush” Game 2 and move on to Game 3.

“I’m looking forward to it,” he said. “Wish I could play tomorrow. Get home, a couple days of rest, a couple days of film and I’ll be ready for Game 3, for sure.”

Davis said he wasn’t troubled by the small cut he suffered over his right eye. He was injured while going up for a jump ball against the Grizzlies’ Desmond Bane in the first half. An athletic trainer attended to him during a timeout and he returned to the court with the bleeding stopped.

In addition, Davis discounted any notion that his early shooting woes impacted the Lakers’ energy.

“They were playing with a lot of pace,” he said of the Grizzlies. “We were playing with pace. Obviously, both teams ... us trying to go up 2-0, them trying not to fall down 0-2. We missed shots. They missed shots and we only scored 19 points in the first quarter, which is not like us.

“So, we’ve got to make sure we do a better job. We’ll be fine.”