Dallas Mavericks forward Anthony Davis recently returned from an extended injury absence. Making his Mavericks debut on Feb. 8 after being acquired in a trade for Luka Doncic, the 10-time NBA All-Star turned in 26 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists before suffering an adductor injury that sidelined him for more than a month.
Returning on March 24, Davis has helped the Mavericks climb back into the Western Conference Play-In picture, turning in another strong performance on Wednesday in a win over the Atlanta Hawks. Finishing with 34 points and 15 rebounds, Davis led Dallas to its 38th win on the season.
Dallas Mavericks forward Anthony Davis (3)
© Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
The performance from Davis was historic, as he became the only player in Mavericks franchise history with at least 30 points, 15 rebounds, five blocks and two threes in a game (via StatMuse). Hitting the game-winning shot for Dallas with 3.4 seconds remaining, Davis had the NBA world buzzing, and also received a message from his former Lakers teammate LeBron James.
“GAME BLOUSES!!” James exclaimed.
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James makes a post on his Instagram story.
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Davis and James had a special run together in Los Angeles, winning an NBA championship in 2020. That was Davis’ first season in a Lakers uniform and it was a historic one for he and the franchise.
While Dallas no longer has Doncic, and is also without Kyrie Irving who went down with a season-ending ACL injury, Davis is proving to be the caliber of player who can lead his team to the postseason. With the win on Wednesday, the Mavericks are now 2.5 games up on the 11th seed Phoenix Suns.
