Lakers Final Score: Sloppy Start Dooms LA, Grizzlies Even Series 1-1
Tonight, your Los Angeles Lakers couldn't quite recover from an abysmal first half to vanquish the Memphis Grizzlies at FedEx Forum for a second straight game. Ultimately, the Grizzlies eked out a 103-93 win. Los Angeles now heads home to Crypto.com Arena tied 1-1 in it series with Memphis.
From the jump, Los Angeles emerged perhaps a bit too confident with the news that All-Star Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant would sit out the night with the right hand bruise he aggravated in Sunday's 128-112 Lakers win.
LA players not named LeBron James or Rui Hachimura just couldn't buy a bucket through the bout's first half. At least the Lakers did have this nice two-way action between James and center Anthony Davis:
For their lackluster efforts through the game's first two quarters, the Lakers saw themselves trailing by double digits, 59-44, at the break.
Hot off the heels of a brilliant two-way first playoff game, Davis was especially miserable on offense, scoring just six points on 1-of-9 shooting from the floor (he went 4-of-4 from the foul line), grabbing four rebounds and dishing out one dime. His defense, however, remained excellent. To wit, he had already notched five blocks through the first half.
That said, the Grizzlies made a concerted effort to stifle Davis in the paint all night -- even their deep-bench bigs, drafted into duty thanks to injuries to starting center Steven Adams and reserve power forward/center Brandon Clarke. Watch John Konchar's perfectly timed denial of AD here:
In Davis' defense, he was playing through a hard foul from Grizzlies shooting guard Desmond Bane, who elbowed him in the eyelid to the point where the 6'10" big man was bloodied.
For the half, the disparity in shooting was drastic. The Lakers shot a paltry 35.7% from the field, while the Grizzlies connected on 50% of their takes from the floor. LA was also roundly outplayed in the post. Memphis outscored LA in the paint 38-20, while out-rebounding Los Angeles 35-26. The Grizzlies also outscored the Lakers 15-3 in points off turnovers. Their fast break scoring befuddled LA through the first two quarters.
Memphis led by as many as 20 points at one point in the third quarter, thanks to a quick start. Los Angeles began chipping away at the Grizzlies' edge thanks to a significant free throw advantage. During a run midway through the frame, LA went on a 19-5 tear to get within single digits, 71-65, capped off by a Rui Hachimura triple and an Austin Reaves teardrop floater.
Hachimura had himself a quarter, more than doubling his total through the game's first two quarters to score 11 points in the third frame alone. Through three periods, the 6'8" combo forward had a total of 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the floor (2-of-3 from deep) and 4-of-6 shooting from the foul line. The Lakers' sloppiness protecting the ball, particularly on drives, prevented them from getting as close as they may have deserved in the quarter.
Los Angeles headed into the fourth quarter behind 83-71.
That's when the Lakers started turning on the gas, chipping away at the Grizzlies' edge with a lot of intense paint play on both ends of the hardwood. Memphis made a point to throw multiple bodies at James whenever he got trapped in the post, struggling to thread the rock to a trailing Jarred Vanderbilt.
Once Davis was reinserted into the lineup for LA, he and James got cooking somewhat. Some downright dirty defensive play from Dillon Brooks also helped the Lakers get back into it. When Brooks drew his fifth foul midway through the period, he left for the bench, leaving rookie David Roddy to cover James.
LA got as close as six points, 94-88, with 3:10 remaining in regulation, but failed to convert baskets late thanks to a swarming Grizzlies paint defense and a lot of botched triples.
Dillon Brooks hit a dagger three at the 1:23 mark that put Memphis up 11, 99-88, and effectively sealed the game.
To my surprise, Rui Hachimura enjoyed his second straight great game, becoming the first LA player to notch back-to-back postseason bouts with 20 or more points since Magic Johnson during his power forward era in the 1996 playoffs. He finished with 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the floor (2-of-4 from deep), five rebounds, two assists and a steal.
Jarred Vanderbilt's modest eight-point, eight-rebound night belies his actual value to the club. He registered a team-best +8 plus-minus during his 21:37 on the hardwood, and critical in helping LA keep the game close with tactical play in the post.
James recorded 28 points on 12-of-23 shooting from the floor, 12 rebounds, three assists, a steal and a block, but struggled to assert himself. Davis and Russell had fairly underwhelming nights. Davis went just 4-of-14 from the floor for 13 points, grabbed eight boards, blocked just the five shots (i.e. only in the first half), and passed for three assists. Russell was troublingly bad, scoring five points on 2-of-11 shooting, though he did pull down seven rebounds and dish out for four assists. That's just not good enough on a night where the other club's backup point guard, Tyus Jones, in for Ja Morant, just flatly outplayed him, scoring 10 points on 4-of-11 shooting, passing for eight assists and grabbing six rebounds.
For the Grizzlies, Steven Adams' replacement, Xavier Tillman, and new Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr. had standout nights. Tillman logged 22 points on 76.9% shooting and pulled down 13 rebounds. Jackson had 18 points and nine boards.
The Grizzlies took and made significantly more triples, going 11-of-36 from deep, than LA, which went 7-of-26 from three. After LA's atrocious first half the club improved its shooting in the second, finishing at 41.2% shooting from the floor, just a smidge worse than Memphis' 42.7%. Though both teams finished with roughly the same turnover tally (12 for LA, 10 for Memphis), the Grizzlies' ability to capitalize in transition off turnovers made a tremendous difference, as Memphis outscored LA 20-9 in points off turnovers.
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