Lakers Take 2-1 Series Lead After Beating The Grizzlies 111-101
(CTN News) – A sellout crowd for the first time in a decade saw LeBron James and the Lakers produce one of the greatest first quarters in the team’s history.
In an atmosphere of raucous ovation after raucous ovation, the Los Angeles Lakers jumped out to a 35-9 lead.
Even Ja Morant was unable to carry the Memphis Grizzlies back to prevent the Lakers from winning Game 3.
In addition to Anthony Davis’ 31 points and 17 rebounds, James scored 25 points after Dillon Brooks was thrown for striking him in the groin, and Los Angeles overcame Morant’s 24-point fourth quarter to win 111-101 and take a 2-1 lead in the first round playoff series.
Rui Hachimura scored 16 points off the bench for the seventh-seeded Lakers in a long-awaited return to the playoffs. In the second quarter, Los Angeles led by 26 points, and Memphis couldn’t get closer than 13 points.
While guarding James near midcourt, Brooks struck the Memphis agitator in the groin, resulting in his ejection. As James rolled on the court in pain, officials tossed Brooks after a brief video review – and the Lakers won.
“I didn’t make a statement,” James replied. It’s been too long since I’ve done this. No statements are being made by me. As a result, we played well at home on our home turf. There was no statement made. It was just a matter of playing well, and we were able to win. Statements aren’t necessary.”
Los Angeles hosts Game 4 on Monday night.
Grizzlies guard Will Morant scored 45 points in his return from a sore right hand, including 22 consecutive points during the fourth quarter as the team overcame a 29-point deficit. His hand was padded and braced, and he appeared tentative at first, but soon found his usual unguardable form.
Memphis couldn’t recover from the lowest-scoring first quarter in franchise history after Morant also had 13 assists and nine rebounds.
Obviously, that first quarter hurt us because we won by double digits in the last three quarters.” It’s a pretty good feeling, man. There’s some stuff you just have to endure and play through. … I just tried to win the game in that fourth quarter. The shooting went pretty well, and I just couldn’t get it over the hump.”
As the Lakers’ sellout crowd booed his every move, Brooks managed only seven points on 3-for-13 shooting. A 27-year-old Brooks belittled James’ abilities and called him “old” during and after Game 2,
Drawing the ire of Lakers fans.
He declined to speak to reporters after the game. Taylor Jenkins merely said, “Officials made a call.” about Brooks’ ejection.
During the third quarter, Lakers forward Hachimura got a technical foul for his furious reaction to a foul.
In spite of the physical play, the Lakers were in control until the Grizzlies got within nine points late in the game.
Our offense impacted our defensive ability significantly in the first quarter, Jenkins said. We have shown great resilience in quarters 2, 3 and 4, and it’s time for us to learn from this. “Adversity will make us stronger.”
A total of 18 points were scored by Desmond Bane for the Grizzlies.
As Brooks touched the ball before his ejection, Lakers fans ripped into him during pregame warmups. In addition, the Lakers played with a similar edge from the very beginning.
As a result, the Grizzlies went 3 for 25 with six turnovers in the first quarter. Brooks had a particularly poor day, missing 10 of his first 12 shots and making little impact on defense.
Darvin Ham, Lakers coach, called the crowd phenomenal. The energy was palpable in the building. Our performance gave them something to cheer about.”
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