Lakers offense limited after Davis runs into foul trouble

Anthony Davis is used to shouldering much of the scoring load for the Los Angeles Lakers, but he says getting in foul trouble early in game three of the NBA Finals took away his effectiveness.

“It had an impact. I picked up two (fouls) early, come back in and get the third. So it takes away the aggressiveness on both ends of the floor that I’m used to playing with,” said Davis. “It definitely took me out and put too much pressure on the other guys.”

Davis, who is playing in his first NBA Finals, scored a combined 66 points in games one and two against the Miami Heat, but finished with just 15 points in 32 minutes in Sunday’s game three defeat.

Davis finished with four fouls and five turnovers as the Lakers blew a golden opportunity to take a stranglehold 3-0 lead by losing 115-104 to the Heat in the NBA’s quarantine bubble in Orlando, Florida.

“The turnovers, I had four (actually five). I missed communication on some passes, but I just have to be better overall.

“We’ll be fine. We made shots. We didn’t defend at all tonight. They made big shots. Made some good plays. Trust me, we’ll be fine.”

Davis picked up his first foul on an offensive charge with just under five minutes left in the first quarter. He had four turnovers in the first quarter, including three in a 66-second span.

“I just have to be better at both ends of the floor,” he said. “The team relies on me to bring the energy to start the game and when you pick up two fouls, guys come in earlier, things like that.”

Lakers’ coach Frank Vogel said the fouls disrupted the Lakers’ offensive flow, but they should have been able to rise above it.

“I think that impacted us some, but we’ve been in foul trouble before, and you have to play through it,” Vogel said.

“That’s part of the game. We see that all throughout the course of the season and in the playoffs, and you have to be able to adapt and adjust.

“Probably had a small factor on our offensive rhythm, but we’ve just got to be better overall on both ends.”

Davis said he can see plenty of room for improvement in the Lakers’ defense in game four on Tuesday.

“We were getting confused on a lot of things,” he said. “They had wide open looks.

“We let Jimmy (Butler) get into a strong hand too many times, getting to the basket, or getting to the free-throw line. We were letting guys get to the rim easily with no contact.

“We didn’t play well defensively late in the game. They made us pay.”

Agence France-Presse 

Everyday Eovaldi turns in Series performance for the ages

LOS ANGELES — Nathan Eovaldi seemed to have a rubber arm. Maybe that second Tommy John surgery turned him into a bionic pitcher.

Until the 97th pitch of an outing that was among the most unusual in World Series history, until the 561st pitch of an epic endurance test that sprawled across the night for 18 innings, he finally got beat.

Eovaldi allowed Max Muncy’s opposite-field homer to left-center on a cutter that hung over the high, outside corner, ending the longest World Series game ever after 7 hours, 20 minutes. The Dodgers’ 3-2 win over Boston on Friday cut Los Angeles’ World Series deficit to 2-1.

“After the game was over I started crying,” Red Sox starter Rick Porcello said. “He literally gave everything he had on every single pitch.”

Before this week, Eovaldi had never pitched on consecutive days in his major league career.

Now the 28-year-old right-hander was sent to the mound by manager Alex Cora for the third time in four days. In the World Series. Throwing 98 mph in his seventh inning of relief.

Fastballs and cutters. Occasional sliders and splits. Inning after inning.

“I felt good the whole time. I told AC, ‘I’m good. I want to stay in,’” Eovaldi said in front of the first base dugout after it was over.

He gave a performance for the ages — especially in an era when managers have turned starters and relievers alike into one-batter wonders. It was a throwback to the days when Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale took the Dodger Stadium mound and expected to finish what they started.

After pitching the eighth inning to preserve leads in the first two games of the Series, Eovaldi was the scheduled Game 4 starter. Instead he became Boston’s record-tying ninth pitcher when he entered to start the 12th inning.

He was on the verge of getting the win when second baseman Ian Kinsler made a throwing error that allowed the Dodgers to retie the game in the 13th.

“I feel terrible for Nate,” Kinsler said. “I feel like I let the team down right there.”

Eovaldi was understanding.

“He apologized to me, and I told him he has nothing to apologize for,” Eovaldi said.

Muncy walked leading off the 13th and came home on Kinsler’s error, then nearly won the game in the 15th with a drive over the wall down the right-field line that hooked just foul.

Eovaldi fell behind 3-0 to Muncy leading off the 18th, and then got a called strike followed by a pair of fouls. Muncy drove the next pitch 382 feet onto the stairway in front of the pavilion seats.

“That was the last inning right there,” Cora said . “When he came in, I asked him, ‘How do you feel?’ He’s like, ‘Let me finish it.’ And I’m like, ‘OK.’ I don’t know if I told him, ‘You’ve got one more.’”

Eovaldi threw four more pitches than any member of Boston’s staff had in an outing this postseason. Cora planned to have Drew Pomeranz hit for Eovaldi in the 19th and take the mound in the bottom half.

“I felt privileged to be able to watch what Nathan Eovaldi did,” Porcello said. “That was the most incredible pitching performance I’ve even seen.”

Eovaldi threw more than one-third of Boston’s 283 pitches, allowing two runs — one earned — and three hits in six innings. Not bad, especially given his past.

He had his first elbow ligament replacement surgery in 2007 when he was a junior at Alvin High School in Texas. He had his second in August 2016 after getting hurt while pitching for the New York Yankees.

New York cut him loose, and Tampa Bay gave him a home for his rehab.

“I’m trusting the doctors and the surgeons that they’re going to do their job. And then trusting the trainers,” Eovaldi said. “I never thought that I wouldn’t be here.”

He was on the verge of returning for the start of this season when the Rays announced near the end of spring training that he had loose bodies in his elbow and needed surgery. That delayed his return to May 30.

After going 3-4 with a 4.26 ERA in 10 starts, he was traded to Boston on July 25 for prospect Jalen Beeks. Eovaldi dropped his ERA to 3.33 in 10 starts and one relief appearance for the Red Sox, his average fastball velocity up to 97-98 mph.

He beat the Yankees in his postseason debut, Game 3 of the Division Series, and then defeated Houston in the third game of the AL Championship Series.

Will everyday Eovaldi volunteer to pitch Saturday?

“Absolutely,” Eovaldi said.

He only seemed to be half-kidding.

source: sports.inquirer.net