SACRAMENTO — In light of Anthony Davis once again missing a pair of clutch free throws, this time in the Lakers’ 103-99 road win over the Sacramento Kings on Saturday, coach JJ Redick made it clear he remains confident with having the ball in the All-Star big man’s hands late in games.
With the Lakers leading the Kings 101-99 with 12.5 seconds remaining in the game and two seconds left on the shot clock, Davis curled around a D’Angelo Russell screen toward the left block in front of LeBron James, who was inbounding the ball for the Lakers baseline.
James passed the ball over Malik Monk’s outstretched right arm and into Davis’ hands, with Monk fouling Davis on his turnaround shot attempt late in the clock to send Davis to the free throw line with the Lakers up by two with 12.1 seconds remaining.
The first attempt from Davis, who made two free throws earlier in the game and entered Saturday shooting 78.6% from the charity stripe, went in and out of the rim.
Davis’ second attempt was identical to the first, hitting the back of the rim before hitting the front and eventually popping out.
“As a player, that stuff can weigh on you,” Redick said of Davis. “I trust him. I believe in him. He’ll be in those situations again and I’m confident he’s gonna make the shot.”
Luckily for the Lakers, Rui Hachimura back-tapped an offensive rebound to Austin Reaves, who the Kings intentionally fouled with nine seconds left.
Reaves made both his free throws to seal the Lakers’ third consecutive victory and fourth in their last five games.
Saturday wasn’t the first time this season that Davis didn’t convert late crucial free throws.
He was in a similar position in the Lakers’ matchup against the Orlando Magic on Nov. 21 at Crypto.com Arena.
With the Lakers up 118-116 against the Magic, Davis stepped up to the free-throw line for a pair of shots but missed both. And unlike Saturday, the Magic made the Lakers pay in a way the Kings didn’t, with Franz Wagner responding with a game-winning 3-pointer to give the Lakers a 119-118 for their first home loss of the season.
“Between this and Orlando game, I’m not deterred in terms of having the basketball in [Davis’] hands with under 30 seconds,” Redick said.
After Saturday, Davis is shooting 50% on free throws (6 of 12) in clutch situations – when the game is within five points in the last five minutes.
“I don’t want to say I’m frustrated because I like both of them,” Davis said of his late missed free throws on Saturday. “Both in and out. I don’t feel like I could have shot it any differently. Ones in the past I was like completely missed either left short or right or long, but both of these in and out. But I know I definitely appreciate Rui with the tip out.
“And my wife even called me and said ‘Rui saved you.’ So I was, that made me feel like worse. ‘Whose side you on?’ But at the end of the day, Rui got the tip out, AR knocked two down and we were able to get a victory.”
World Basketball Day
Saturday was also the second annual World Basketball Day, which was established last year by the United Nations and is observed on December 21, the date Dr. James Naismith first introduced the game of basketball in 1891.
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Redick had a lengthy response on Thursday when asked about the discourse surrounding the NBA’s rating, 3-point volume and perceived issues with the league. Redick’s response included him saying: “We don’t have anybody that’s willing to step up to the fact that this is an awesome game and we should talk about it and celebrate it in a positive way. That doesn’t mean we don’t critique it. We should critique it, but we should celebrate it. Nobody’s doing that.”
So Saturday gave Redick the opportunity to share what makes basketball great to him.
“People – that’s what makes basketball great,” Redick said. “It’s a game that requires cooperation and chemistry and sacrifice and communication. And what basketball has given to me is a great lifestyle. It’s given me a competitive outlet. It’s given me, outside of my family, the most meaning in my life. And the reason is because of people and the relationships that I’ve had with teammates, coaches, now players. It’s why I love the game, is because it’s a team sport and it requires so much of each other to make it work.”