Lakers clinch No. 1 seed as Anthony Davis dominates Jazz

Aug. 4 (UPI) -- Anthony Davis devastated the Utah Jazz with 42 points and 12 rebounds in an eight-point victory, which helped the Los Angeles Lakers clinch the No. 1 seed for the Western Conference playoffs.

The Lakers forward also had four assists and three steals in the 116-108 win Monday in Orlando, Fla. LeBron James had 22 points, nine assists, eight rebounds and two steals in the victory.

"I just tried to come out of the gates very aggressive and the team kind of follows," Davis told reporters.

"LeBron does a great job of making sure I'm aggressive by throwing me the ball and telling me to go."

Davis scored 13 points in the first frame, but the score was tied at 24-24. He poured in another 11 points in the second quarter to help the team own a 58-56 edge at halftime. Davis added another 10 points in the third frame to help push the lead to 86-76.

James scored 10 points in the final frame, while Davis added another eight points to help the Lakers secure the victory down the stretch.

Dwight Howard scored 11 points and had five rebounds in the win. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had 10 points and four rebounds for the Lakers. Donovan Mitchell paced the Jazz with 33 points. Mike Conley Jr. scored 24 points and had eight assists in the loss. Rudy Gobert had 16 points and 13 rebounds for the Jazz.

"We are building the right habits," Lakers coach Frank Vogel said. "If you are winning enough games to secure the No. 1 seed, you are building the habits necessary to win in the playoffs.

"Obviously we have bigger aspirations than the No. 1 seed."

The Los Angeles Clippers have control of the No. 2 seed in the conference, but are just 1.5 games ahead of the No. 3 Denver Nuggets. The Lakers are in position to face the No. 8 Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the playoffs.

The Jazz have the No. 5 seed and are in position to face the No. 4 Houston Rockets if the regular season ended today. The winner of that matchup would face the Lakers or Grizzlies in the second round.

The Lakers (51-15) face the Oklahoma City Thunder at 6:30 p.m. EDT Wednesday in Orlando. The Jazz (42-25) face the Grizzlies at 2:30 p.m. EDT Wednesday in Orlando.