Davis fires Lakers over Pelicans

With LeBron James sidelined, Anthony Davis once again stepped up for the Los Angeles Lakers with 35 points and 17 rebounds while Malik Beasley put on a three-point shooting clinic, making 7-of-12 attempts from beyond the arc in a 24-point haul.

The win keeps the Lakers firmly in contention for a playoff place with just under four weeks of the regular season remaining.

“We’re just trying to stay alive,” Davis said afterwards. “We came out with a mindset of having this as a must-win game.”

Davis had been determined to produce a big performance against his former club, after blaming himself for the Lakers 112-108 loss to the Knicks on Sunday.

“Everybody did their job (on Sunday) except myself. That was on me,” Davis said. “I never want to have a performance like I did the other night and let my team down. I wanted to come out to- night and make a difference.”

Cleveland, meanwhile, kept up their pursuit of Philadelphia in the Eastern Conference with a 120-104 win over the Charlotte Hornets in North Carolina.

Evan Mobley led the Cavaliers scorers in the absence of Donovan Mitchell with 26 points as Cleveland improved to 44-27 to remain fourth in the East.

Meantime, the Denver Nuggets slumped to a fourth straight defeat on Tuesday as Fred VanVleet kept the Toronto Raptors’ playoff hopes alive with a virtuoso display in a 125-110 victory.

Toronto point guard VanVleet finished with 36 points, including eight three-pointers, with seven assists and three steals to give Toronto a crucial win as they aim to remain in contention for a place in the postseason.

The Raptors went on the front foot from the outset, pouring in a franchise record 49 points in a remarkable first quarter to leave Western Conference leaders Denver shell-shocked.

That early scoring blitz was to prove decisive, with the Raptors jumping into a 24-point lead in the third quarter.

Although a late rally saw Denver close to within six points in the fourth quarter, Toronto went on a late run to pull away once more and complete a wire-towire victory at the Scotiabank Arena.

“We came out with great pace, shared the ball, and the ball was moving,” VanVleet said afterwards.

“Obviously we were making shots but it’s a little bit easier whenever score is assisted. It was a good first quarter.

“We’ve just got to keep playing – we’ve been up and down, but we’ve been playing pretty good of late. We’ve got to keep doing it.”

It has been years - and so many conferences for that matter - that only a quartet of the 12 PBA teams get to figure in championship finals.

You know them well, don’t you?

Majority of basketball fanatics somehow have cheered only for Brgy. Ginebra,San Miguel Beer, Magnolia and TNT.

You see the proof when they play each other at the MOA, Araneta Coliseum or elsewhere.

The first three are wellknown sister teams belonging to the San Miguel Corporation, a conglomerate that has helped the PBA survived the critical times it was in before.

TNT is the MVP franchise that has firmly challenged the dominance of corporate rival SMC such that the former likewise organized two more squads - Meralco and NLEX - to keep in step.

Until this was being written, the SMC ballclubs continue to dominate the pro league with TNT offfering stiff resistance.

So you understand now why when a three team trade comes up, the player most talked about is either taken by the Gin Kings or the Beermen or the Hotshots

The same scenario happens when TNT, Meralco and NLEX are involved.

This is to circumvent a long standing rule that sister teams cannot engage trades between themselves directly.

Anyway, I think serious PBA fans - not only the die hardswant some other team aside from the teams cited above to gate crash the Big 4 party.

Perhaps, it will do the PBA more good if Converge snares one of the championship trophies in the near future. Or NLEX. Or Meralco. And maybe a rejuvenated Rain or

Shine which is again under the helm of returning mentor Yeng Guiao.

Or even NorthPort.

The task looks very difficult because the best players in the league are already in the payroll of the Big Four.

Not only that.

The top bench strategists are also already contracted by these franchises because they can afford to pay them at least six figures in compensation and salaries, not to mention juicy bonuses when championships are won.

Maybe I’m imagining things because if the current situation is to be crtically analyzed, another decade will perhaps pass before a gate crasher appears in the horizon.

Until then, it is an idea that can be nurtured.

Remember that Cone, Guiao and Reyes were once understudies and they gatecrashed the party when their individual time and oppotunity came.

I know this because I personally saw how Cone and Guiao did it. (Email feedback to fredlumba@yahoo.com.)

GOD BLESS THE PHILIPPINES!