Anthony Davis is in fierce rivalry with Nikola Jokic for…

For the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night, Anthony Davis was terrific. But even with a tremendous performance from the nine-time All-Star, the Lakers were unable to defeat the Denver Nuggets, the reigning champions, in Game 1.Davis is more than willing to accept the loss following a 114-103 loss in the first game of the series. The Lakers star is currently eager to get back into his on-court matchup with Nikola Jokic.NBA News: Anthony Davis’s Reaction to the Nuggets DiminishedAfter 45 minutes of play on Saturday, Davis ended with a game-high 32 points on 12-of-23 shooting, 14 rebounds, five assists, and four blocks.

Jokic and the rest of Denver’s frontcourt just outperformed the Lakers in Game 1, according to Davis’ post-game remarks:

“We simply need to box out.” According to Corey Hansford of Lakers Nation, Davis stated, “Put a body on their bigs.” Jokic, DJ, and Aaron Gordon need to get their legs examined. They normally just outjump you if we just sit there and try to perch on top of their legs. The offensive rebounds they got tonight affected us, particularly in the third and late minutes of the second quarter.

Anthony Davis Anticipating a Rematch with Nikola JokicDavis isn’t sobbing over spilt milk at this time. Rather, he is eager to play Jokic once more in Game 2, especially with a little added motivation:

Indeed. When asked if he would guard Jokic more, Davis replied, “I kind of got to it late.” Rui (Hachimura) has previously done a great job on him, simply pushing the catches out and being rough with him, which made it difficult for him to shoot over the top.However, like I mentioned, we’ll examine it and make any necessary corrections. We should talk to one other and just determine whether or not we are supporting Rui by abandoning him on an island after he scores and other such things. After that, we’ll make the necessary changes before Game 2. So be it if that implies I’ll be on him the entire time. However, that was the strategy going into tonight.

It’s obvious that Davis is prepared to go above and beyond to help the Lakers win, even if it means assuming a central role on both ends of the court. At the end of Game 1, he did appear quite exhausted, but for AD and LA right now, weariness is simply not an option.