Without Morant, Grizzlies Lean on Dogged Defense to Even Series vs. Lakers

Memphis once again showed the resilience that earned it the No. 2 seed as it picked up a critical win before its first-round series heads to L.A.

For all of Ja Morant’s fabulous talent, the strength of the Grizzlies’ team had little to do with him. For 82 games during the regular season Memphis stood as one of the NBA’s top defensive teams. First in defensive field goal percentage. Second in defensive rating. Fourth in defensive rebounds. So with Morant out for Game 2 of the Grizzlies’ first-round series against the Lakers with a hand injury, Memphis leaned into what it does best.

The Grizzlies beat Los Angeles 103–93 on Wednesday, evening the series. Memphis held L.A. to 41.2% shooting. The Lakers connected on just 26.9% of their threes. The Grizzlies switching defense repeatedly forced L.A. to take shots late in the shot clock. Memphis forced 12 turnovers and, after getting soundly outrebounded in Game 1, edged the Lakers on the glass 49–47 in Game 2. The Grizzlies led 30–19 after the first quarter and never trailed again.

“First quarter they got the best of us,” said D’Angelo Russell. “Never allowed us to get any rhythm from that point on.”

“They were desperate,” said Austin Reaves. “They played harder than us.”

After Anthony Davis scored 22 points in Game 1, Memphis made challenging Davis more a priority in Game 2. “They bumped up their physicality,” said Lakers coach Darvin Ham. The Grizzlies, led by Xavier Tillman and Jaren Jackson Jr., battled Davis as he tried to establish post position, forced him into tough catches and crowded the paint when he made them. Davis finished with 14 points on 4-of-14 shooting.

“I like the shots I took,” said Davis. “I just missed them. A lot of shots close to the rim. Flush it and get ready for [Saturday].”

The Lakers backcourt didn’t fare much better. Russell was held to five points on 2-of-11 shooting. Dennis Schroder went scoreless. Reaves, the star of Game 1, was limited to just 12 points in Game 2. “I told the guys afterwards,” said Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins, “when we lock into our game plan we’re probably going to get the results that we want.”

While James led all scorers on the night, Brooks frustrated the league’s all-time leading scorer (and had plenty to say about it afterward.) :: Petre Thomas/USA TODAY Sports

LeBron James, matched up with Dillon Brooks much of the night, scored 28 but was just 1-of-8 from beyond the three-point line. The battle with Brooks has been predictably physical through the first two games of this series. Brooks, who stared down James multiple times in Game 2, has worked to get under James’s skin. Asked if he felt he owed James more respect, Brooks told reporters, “I don’t care. He’s old … I poke bears. I don’t respect no one until they come and give me 40 [points].”

Without Morant, the Grizzlies needed an offensive spark. They got it in Tillman, a third-year forward. Tillman played sporadically in the first half of the season. To stay sharp, he reportedly twice asked for demotions to the Memphis Hustle, the Grizzlies G-League affiliate, to get live game playing time. When Steven Adams went down with a right knee injury in January, Tillman rejoined the rotation. He averaged 10.2 points per game after the All-Star break. In Game 2, Tillman racked up 22 points (on 10-of-13 shooting) and 13 rebounds, winning the battle with Davis.

“You couldn’t write this,” said Tillman, laughing. “It’s humbling. It lets me know that no matter what I’m going through, it will always pass. I just saw a video about it yesterday. Life is like a wave. On your wave you’re feeling good, and then it might crash. You might be down for a little bit waiting for your next wave to come. But it will come. That’s how life works. As long as you keep working and keep trusting everything you’re putting in it will come to fruition. It did. It’s crazy though, I’ll tell you that.”

In beating the Lakers, the Grizzlies continued one of the NBA’s most bizarre trends: They are good without Morant. Wednesday win improved Memphis to 33–17 without its star point guard over the last two seasons. Tyus Jones (10 points, eight assists) is arguably the NBA’s top backup point guard and in Game 2 the Grizzlies had five players chip in at least three assists.

“It’s a great description of the depth of our team, the resilience of our team,” said Jenkins. “We battled this throughout the regular season the last two years. Now two playoffs in a row. The guys know what our DNA is. We compete together.”

That may have to continue. Morant’s status for the remainder of the series is uncertain. Jenkins said Morant is “still battling some soreness, a little pain.” He wore a wrap around his right hand on the bench on Wednesday. With Memphis off until Saturday, Jenkins said he is hopeful Morant can return “sooner rather than later.”

The challenge remains significant without him. The Lakers didn’t sound panicked after a Game 2 defeat. “I’m pretty sure if this was the NCAA tournament my mood would be a lot different,” said Ham. “It’s the first to four not the first to one or two or three. We anticipated a really grueling series.” L.A. seized home court advantage, while the extra rest should help James and Davis, too. A sold-out crowd will file into Crypto.com Arena on Saturday, the first time the Lakers—who won the title in the bubble in 2020 and were allowed limited attendance during the playoffs in 2021—will have a full house for a playoff game during the James/Davis era.

“There’s always room to improve,” said James. “It’s a 1–1 series. Both teams feel like they can win on each other’s [home] floor. It gives us no comfort that we’re going home. Game 3 is the most important game of the series. If we’re not uncomfortable going into that game, they can very easily come on our home court and take the series back.”