The two friends and teammates of the U.S. gold medal-winning Olympic basketball team in Paris over the summer had a tense exchange in the heat of the moment Tuesday night, words meaning Lakers All-Star Anthony Davis and Minnesota All-Star Anthony Edwards as the drama unfolded .

Davis had just scored on Edwards and was fouled on the play early in the third quarter when they came face to face without retreating.

When asked about that exchange, Davis laughed.

“When he wanted to punch me in the face,” Davis said, smiling.

Is that what he told Davis?

“No, but he wanted to do that,” Davis said.

Davis later said the two are very good friends and that they hugged after the game.

It’s just that Davis landed the bulk of the punch on Tuesday night, using his play to eliminate the Timberwolves and lift the Lakers to a win in their regular season opener at Crypto.com Arena.

During the game, LeBron James and Bronny James made NBA history by becoming the first father-son duo to play together, but Davis was the one to deliver the big shots. He finished with 36 points, 16 rebounds, four assists and three blocked shots.

The clash with Edwards was notable because Davis is not known to talk a lot of trash. Davis delivered an excellent third quarter with 13 points and five rebounds.

Lakers forward Anthony Davis (3) reacts after a referee denies his steal of Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) on Tuesday at Crypto.com Arena.

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

“No, that’s my guy,” Davis said of Edwards. “I have the and-one and just his competitive nature, he hates… Actually it goes back to the Olympics. We talked about it and he said we are the team he hates playing on the most because we don’t let him play. We passed him the ball and I got the and-one on him and I yelled at him and it was just brotherly love. That’s my husband. We call each other ‘Gemini’. Same name. That kind of thing. So it was nothing serious.”

Davis completed the dismantling of the Timberwolves in the fourth quarter as the Lakers tried to keep Minnesota at bay.

He re-entered the game with 7:09 left in the fourth when the Lakers’ lead, once 19 points, had been cut to eight points.

Davis immediately went to work, grabbing a rebound away from Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert.

Davis made just one of two free throws after being fouled, but then he showed up on defense on the next play, blocking a three-point attempt by Donte DiVincenzo.

Thus began a stretch in which Davis scored 11 of the Lakers’ next 15 points and assisted on two more with a nice pass to Rui Hachimura.

Davis had 11 points, four rebounds and two blocked shots in the fourth quarter.

“He’s the main focal point for us offensively and defensively,” LeBron James said. “We have to make sure we keep giving him the ball. I think the coaching staff and JJ (Redick) do a great job of always putting him in positions where he can be the receiver of the offense. And if AD can get it done, it’s our job as ball handlers to keep feeding him, finding him, and doing for AD what AD does.

When Redick took over as head coach of the Lakers, he had a conversation with Davis about being the center of the offense.

It was new for Davis because James was the center during his first five years with the Lakers.

Now it’s Davis.

He said the Lakers are focused on getting him the ball at the top of the key so he can make a play or direct the offense. He noted that he should also serve as a focal point of defensive pressure.

“Obviously it’s going to grow and we’re going to integrate more things into that,” Davis said after his first night with Redick’s offense. “But I think this is a good first step to see how he wants me to play and how he wants me to be that hub and orchestrate the offense in a way.”