Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis (3) shoots while defended by Golden State Warriors forward Kevon Looney (5) during the first half of an NBA basketball Western Conference semifinal game, on May 2, 2023, in San Francisco. (PHOTO / AP)

SAN FRANCISCO, California — LeBron James no longer has to do it all against Stephen Curry on the big stage, not even close. Anthony Davis plugs the middle and takes away the easy chances inside. Dennis Schroder has the energy to help chase No 30 all over the court. D'Angelo Russell can hit a big shot with a hand in his face.

That's the thing about these new-look Lakers — they take so much pressure off the game's all-time scoring leader and James believes in them, even with the defending champions on a 14-0 run with their home crowd rocking.

Davis had 30 points, 23 rebounds, five assists and four blocked shots, James added 22 points and 11 rebounds dueling with Stephen Curry in their latest postseason showdown, and Los Angeles held off a late flurry by the Golden State Warriors to win an entertaining Game 1 in the Western Conference semifinals 117-112 on Tuesday night.

"We've been playing playoff basketball for about 2 1/2 months now just to punch our clock to be able to play right now in the postseason," James said. "We were very resilient tonight. ... We know how great they are on their home floor, so to withstand that, it's another good step for our ball club."

James' 23 points were his third-fewest in 23 playoff games against the Warriors. His previous low in a win was 27 in Game 7 of the 2016 Finals.

Anthony Davis had 30 points, 23 rebounds, five assists and four blocked shots, LeBron James added 22 points and 11 rebounds dueling with Stephen Curry in their latest postseason showdown, and Los Angeles held off a late flurry by the Golden State Warriors to win an entertaining Game 1 in the Western Conference semifinals 117-112 on Tuesday night

Jordan Poole missed a 3-pointer to tie it with 9.7 seconds left as the Warriors' rally in the closing minutes fell short. Curry's 3 with 1:38 left tied the game, then Russell answered right back before Davis blocked a shot by Curry moments later. James missed the first of two free throws with 1:05 to go.

Poole's 3 with 2:48 remaining cut the Lakers' lead to 112-109, and James was called for traveling with 1:53 left.

For all-time scoring leader James and Curry — who has the most 3-pointers ever and is the reigning NBA Finals MVP — this is a new chapter in the superstars' rivalry after they faced off in four straight NBA Finals from 2015-2018 while James played for Cleveland.

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Curry scored 27 points, Splash Brother Klay Thompson had 25, and Kevon Looney grabbed a career-high 23 rebounds for his fourth game of this postseason with 20 or more.

The defending champion Warriors will try to even the series in Game 2 on Thursday night back on their home floor at Chase Center, where LA fans chanted "Let's go Lakers!" after the final buzzer.

Davis dominated from the opening tip, making 9 of his first 10 shots, while Russell scored 19 points and dished out six assists against his former team.

"I thought AD had a great game. Obviously he dominated and he got blocked four shots and altered some others," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. "That's what this team has been doing now for the last few months. They have been one of the best defensive teams in the league for a reason and he's a huge part of that."

James' 3-pointer with 5:23 left in the third put the Lakers ahead by 10,86-76. Then Thompson's snazzy behind-the-back pass led to a dunk by Gary Payton II over James with 3:48 to go as Golden State cut it to 86-80 and forced a Lakers timeout.

Extra recovery

The Lakers finished off Memphis in six games Friday night and had a couple of extra recovery days to get ready as Golden State was pushed the distance by the young Sacramento Kings and won Game 7 on Sunday. The Warriors were the first reigning champion to come back from behind 2-0 and win a playoff series.

Curry went off for a playoff career-high 50 points, an NBA record for a Game 7. Kerr said he thought his team had an advantage having just played two days earlier.

But the revamped Lakers took it to Golden State just as they did winning the final three regular-season matchups — and Los Angeles is a far different team than the one that lost 123-109 here on Oct 18 to start the season.

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"It was a quick turnaround but can't dwell on it," Thompson said. "So the morale is not low. We know we let one slip away."

Agencies via Xinhua