Lakers impressed after AD overcomes illness, halftime IV for 'monster game'

Los Angeles Lakers superstar Anthony Davis has already battled through a number of injuries this season, but he impressed his teammates and coaches with his latest act of perseverance.

Davis needed an IV line during halftime of Tuesday's game as he gutted through flu-like symptoms during the Lakers' 105-96 win over the Denver Nuggets.

"He's been doing it all year," LeBron James told reporters, including ESPN's Dave McMenamin, postgame. "Playing through injuries, playing through illness like he did tonight. (He's the) Defensive Player of the Year and he showed tonight once again playing one-on-one versus (Nikola Jokic) in the post.

"When there were switches, going on with Jamal Murray, playing one-on-one versus a small. Got stop after stop after stop. Just a monster game for him."

Jokic was held to 13 points on 4-of-12 shooting from the floor, while Murray made 1-of-6 field-goal attempts with Davis as his primary defender, according to NBA.com.

Davis may have posted just a single block, but the 26-year-old managed to contest a game-high 18 shots, including four triples.

"Just felt lousy the last two days," head coach Frank Vogel said of Davis. "He comes in and has a ... Defensive Player of the Year type of performance. He's guarding their two best players, Jokic, single coverage, everybody's staying home and Murray taking him to the basket and he's making defensive play after defensive play.

"And he was outstanding. For him to play through illness and have that kind of performance was something special."

Davis is averaging 26.1 points, 9.3 boards, and 3.3 assists across 20 appearances this season. The six-time All-Star leads the Association with 54 total blocks and ranks ninth with 230 contested shots.