By Jeremy Layton
(MAINNEWS) – Anthony Davis is setting the record straight after some questioned his reaction to LeBron James breaking the NBA’s all-time points mark.
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NBAE via Getty Images
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Davis was seated and non-reactive — unlike the rest of his Lakers teammates — as James hit a fadeaway jumper Tuesday night to pass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the league’s all-time leading scorer. He emphatically denied he was snubbing his teammate on Thursday night.
“It’s about the game,” Davis said. “I mean, we’re losing to the Oklahoma City Thunder, a game we needed. And I was pissed off that we were losing. It’s that simple. It’s nothing that has to do with ‘Bron. He knows that. Everybody else is outside looking in, it’s their opinion. But I was pissed off that we were losing the game.”
Lakers coach Darvin Ham seemed to back up Davis’ assertion.
“I’ll just say that what is being reported is absolutely not the case,” he told reporters. “And I’ll just leave it there.”
Despite James’ historic night, the Lakers did lose to the Thunder, 133-130, dropping them to 25-30 on the season. Los Angeles lost again Thursday night to the Milwaukee Bucks, 115-106, and remains 2 1/2 games back of the No. 10 seed in the Western Conference, outside of the playoff picture.
The Lakers revamped their roster at the trade deadline, adding D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt from the Timberwolves and sending away Russell Westbrook in the process. Still, they remain on the fringe of playoff contention, and that’s what was on Davis’ mind at the time James broke the record.
Davis also said he had just gotten back from the locker room, and that he wasn’t aware James was about to break the record with his next shot – despite the rest of his team standing and celebrating as it happened.
James, who spoke to the Crypto.com Arena crowd after his record-setting shot, thanked his friend and teammate.
“I love you,” James told Davis. “I’ll just let you know I love you, bro. That’s all I want you to know.”
The 29-year-old said he called James the next day to apologize, and did so again the day after that in person.
