NBA Game Notes (May 2, 2023)

Here are the NBA game notes for games that were played on May 2, 2023.

Davis Dominant in Win

Anthony Davis was dominant as the Los Angeles Lakers knocked off the Golden State Warriors 117-112 to take Game 1 of their Western Conference Semifinals series. Game 2 will be played in San Francisco on Thursday.

Davis scored a game-high 30 points, shooting 11-19 from the field and hitting all eight of his free throws. Davis added game highs of 23 rebounds (tied) and four blocks, and also handed out five assists. He joined Nikola Jokic (June 11, 2021) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (May 13, 2022) as the only active players to record at least 30 points, 20 rebounds, and five assists in a playoff game.

Davis has totals of 155 points, 105 rebounds, and 30 blocks in the 2023 NBA Playoffs. The last player to record at least 150 points, 100 rebounds, and 25 blocks through his first seven games of a postseason was Hakeem Olajuwon in 1993.

Teammate LeBron James struggled from the field, shooting 9-24 and missing seven of his eight 3-pointers. However, James scored 22 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, and blocked three shots in 40 minutes of action.

It’s the second time this postseason Davis and James have each recorded at least 20 points, 10 rebounds, and three blocks in the same game. The last duo to record two such games in a postseason was the Houston Rockets’ Ralph Sampson and Olajuwon (aka the Twin Towers) in 1986.

The Warriors’ Stephen Curry scored a team-high 27 points in the loss. He’s the first Warrior to open a postseason with eight straight 25-point games since Wilt Chamberlain in 1962. Curry is also the first player in NBA history age 35 years or older to open a postseason with eight such games in a row.

Curry shot just 10-24 for the field, but did connect on six of his 13 3-point attempts. Teammates Klay Thompson (25 points) and Jordan Poole (21) also hit six 3-pointers apiece. Curry, Thompson, and Poole became the first trio in NBA history to each make at least six 3-pointers in the same playoff game.

Warriors center Kevon Looney turned in his fourth 20-rebound effort in his last six games, hauling in a career-high 23 boards to go along with 10 points and five assists. Looney is the first player to record four 20-rebound games in a six-game playoff span since Wilt Chamberlain in 1973.

Looney has dished out at least five assists in three of those games. The last player to record at least three 20-rebound, 5-assist games in a postseason was Tim Duncan in 2003.