LOS ANGELES — When the Lakers needed him most on Friday, Anthony Davis let them down.
When they were ahead of Dallas by four points with 7.2 seconds left in the fourth quarter and needed him to be smart, he foolishly contested a 3-point shot by Maxi Kleber and was called for a foul. Kleber, who had taken only 24 free throws before Friday and made 58% of them, hit all three to cut the Lakers' lead to one point.
When they needed Davis to hit a pair of free throws with 6.7 seconds left he converted only one, leaving the Lakers up by two. And when Dallas subsequently inbounded the ball, Davis got lost defensively, closing way too late to prevent Kleber from sinking a 27-foot jumper for the difference in a 111-110 victory over the Lakers that stunned the sellout crowd at Crypto.com Arena.
