Anthony Davis’ Poor 2nd Half Ripped by Fans as LeBron James, Lakers Lose to Nuggets

Jamie Schwaberow/NBAE via Getty Images

The Denver Nuggets started their NBA title defense with an emphatic 119-107 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday.

Nuggets superstar center and two-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokić began this season where he left off last year by dropping a 29-point, 13-rebound, 11-assist triple double.

His big man counterpart, Lakers center Anthony Davis, was not as successful.

AD excelled in the first half with 17 points, but that’s where he finished after going scoreless over the final two quarters.

Denver also outscored L.A. by 17 points with AD on the floor. Davis had no answer for Jokić on defense and also didn’t grab his first rebound until there was 3:22 left until halftime.

LeBron James (21 points on 10-of-16 shooting) and Taurean Prince (18 points on 6-of-8 shooting) kept the Lakers in this game, but the team needed more production from AD and did not get it.

Simply put, this was a very rough game for the eight-time All-Star, who was simply outclassed by Jokić and finished 6-of-17.

There will be brighter days ahead for the talented AD, but Tuesday was about as rough as start as possible.

Davis and the Lakers will look to bounce back on Thursday at home against the Phoenix Suns.