The Los Angeles Lakers, who were 17–18 entering into play on Friday night following a heartbreaking loss to the Miami Heat, have truly been suffering lately. They are now below.500 for the season.
When the Lakers faced the Memphis Grizzlies, they had hopes of turning things around, but they lost 127-113, extending their losing run to four games.
LeBron James ignited the fans with a huge dunk, and the Lakers, who started with the same lineup as they did in their previous game, got off to another poor offensive start. Austin Reaves’ three-point shot and Anthony Davis’ subsequent inside movement tied the score at twelve points entering the first break.
James then started hitting long-range shots, making back-to-back threes, but Ja Morant quickly answered with a fast three-point play, and Marcus Smart then sunk a three of his own. James, however, didn’t stop there as he added two more 3-pointers to make it four straight.
The Lakers were off to a good start after that, as Davis scored two excellent baskets inside before Jarred Vanderbilt swiped an inbounds pass and scored another. Fortunately for the Grizzlies, Morant beat the buzzer to close the first quarter with a 38-29 deficit.
However, the Grizzlies made a few triples of their own, cutting Los Angeles’ double-digit lead to just five points as the Lakers’ defense tightened up in the second quarter. James finished and Taurean Prince added a three.
After Davis’ three-pointer put the Lakers back in control, Prince added another three-pointer. The Grizzlies, on the other hand, heated up toward the conclusion of the half to narrow their lead to 59-58 before the half ended.
In the third quarter, the Grizzlies came out swinging and swiftly overthrew the Lakers. Jaren Jackson Jr. contributed significantly to that with two triples and a defensive block.
Midway through the third quarter, there was a crazy scene in which Jackson and James fought for a lost ball, and the Lakers eventually recovered. Taylor Jenkins, the head coach of the Grizzlies, became enraged because his team was not given a call and stormed onto the field. Prince had the ball in front of him when he made a deft move onto the court to force a technical foul; he was not ejected, though.
The Lakers appeared to get a boost from that as they resumed their offensive streak and took the lead. But Morant heated up to close the quarter, and the two teams were tied at 94 heading into the fourth.
In the fourth quarter, the Grizzlies ramped up once more, grabbing a five-point lead and putting the Lakers into a timeout.
After the break, Davis came back in and tied the game with three Reaves points and a fast bucket to get the Lakers back on pace.
But an 11-2 Memphis run answered that right away, putting Los Angeles in even more trouble.
From there, James missed four crucial free throws, and the Grizzlies kept up their strong play from three, extending their advantage to ten. From there, the Lakers were at a loss and would eventually lose.