The Lakers take the first of two straight matchups against the Memphis Grizzlies with a 128-121 victory on Friday night.
LA jumped to an early eight-point lead. Marcus Smart and Jake LaRavia both knocked
down triples. Former Laker Christian Koloko threw down a dunk off the assist from Ja Morant. Los Angeles was shooting 80% from the field. At the 7:36 mark, the Lakers were up by 11.
LaRavia was 3-for-4 from the field and had nine points in the quarter.
LA had extended its lead to 13 until the Memphis bench came in to cut the deficit to seven. A 16-4 Grizzlies scoring run tied the game.
Memphis went cold from the field, allowing Los Angeles to regain offensive momentum. The Lakers went into the second period up by eight.
Jaxson Hayes opened the second quarter with a dunk for LA. GG Jackson answered on the other end with a slam of his own. Los Angeles pushed its lead to double digits. LaRavia continued to have a stellar game, bringing his point total to 15.
A 10-0 Memphis scoring run cut the deficit to single digits. It forced the Lakers to call a timeout to restore order. They were on a three-minute scoring drought.
Out of the break, LA missed a shot, and Jaylen Wells knocked down a 3-pointer for the Grizzlies. They then took the lead when former Laker Kentavious Caldwell-Pope drained a 3-pointer.
LaRavia stopped the scoring drought for Los Angeles with his second triple of the half. LeBron James then took over, scoring six straight points to help the Lakers retake the lead.
Jaxson Hayes opened the second quarter with a dunk for LA. GG Jackson answered on the other end with a slam of his own. Los Angeles pushed its lead to double digits. LaRavia continued to have a stellar game, bringing his point total to 15.
A 10-0 Memphis scoring run cut the deficit to single digits. It forced the Lakers to call a timeout to restore order. They were on a three-minute scoring drought.
Out of the break, LA missed a shot, and Jaylen Wells knocked down a 3-pointer for the Grizzlies. They then took the lead when former Laker Kentavious Caldwell-Pope drained a 3-pointer.
LaRavia stopped the scoring drought for Los Angeles with his second triple of the half. LeBron James then took over, scoring six straight points to help the Lakers retake the lead.
At halftime, the purple and gold were up by six.
Six quick points for the Grizzlies made it a tie game to start the second half. Luka stopped that run with a jump shot. Deandre Ayton finally saw the ball go through the hoop, scoring on a shot in the paint.
LA gave up four straight points to Santi Aldama, keeping Memphis close.
Luka was having a rough offensive game, going 1-6 from behind the arc and 5-13 from the field. He was, however, shooting 81% from the charity stripe. At the 3:50 mark, Los Angeles was up by eight, after a 3-pointer from Nick Smith Jr.
KCP was cooking his former team; he had reached 18 points, 12 of which came in this quarter. At the end of the third, the game was tied.
LA started the fourth quarter down by two after Morant converted on a layup. LeBron helped Los Angeles jump back into the lead with six points. Both teams were trading baskets until a 3-pointer from Smart gave the Lakers some separation with their lead.
At the 5:25 mark, LA was down by one.
Los Angeles scored seven straight points to put themselves back in the lead. LaRavia’s huge performance carried on with a big-time 3-pointer. The Lakers continued to shine, mounting a 12-2 scoring run.
Memphis couldn’t keep up, allowing LA to score another seven points as the quarter was winding down to secure the win.
Key Player Stats:
Dončić ended with 34 points, six rebounds, eight assists and two steals. LeBron had 31 points with nine rebounds and six assists. Jake LaRavia had 21 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Hayes pitched in with 12 points. Smith Jr. notched eight points and two assists off the bench. Smart scored 13 points with eight rebounds and seven assists.
The Lakers’ next matchup will be against the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday at 6:30 PM PT.You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.
