The Los Angeles Lakers picked up an impressive 116-110 win over the No. 2 seed Memphis Grizzlies tonight, as LeBron James returned to the team after a short absence over the last 10 days. The Grizzlies were on a four-game win streak before this matchup, which turned out to be a quality win for the Lakers to keep them in the hunt for a top-six seed.
Anthony Davis led the Lakers with a monstrous 40 points (15-22 FG) and 16 rebounds, while the returning LeBron put up 18 points (7-17 FG), eight rebounds, and eight assists in the win. Austin Reaves was the only other Laker to score over 10 points, as Reaves ended the night with 19 points (6-15 FG) and eight assists.
“LeBron is still a force to be reckoned with when he’s really bringing it,” said Jason Timpf regarding Bron’s aggressive start to the game.
“Lakers look like an actual basketball team with LeBron back,” said one fan as the Lakers dominated the No. 2 seed in the West.
“Okay so LeBron clearly just needed a mental break. This is the most engaged he’s looked since the Olympics,” said another fan explaining why he possibly took time away from the Lakers.
“Anthony Davis is a joy to watch play basketball,” said a fan extremely impressed with Davis’ dominant night.
“Lakers are at their best when they run everything through Anthony Davis,” said one fan promoting the Lakers style of play with Davis as their No. 1 option.
“Anthony Davis is so disrespected all the time. He’s a generational talent and isn’t treated as such,” said a fan wanting Davis to get his respect as one of the best in the league.
The Grizzlies couldn’t matchup on the night, being led by Jaren Jackson Jr. scoring 25 points (9-13 FG) before fouling out in the fourth quarter while Ja Morant had an inefficient 20 points (6-20). The pair were the only starters to score in double digits, with bench players like Zach Edey (13 PTS, 10 REB) and Luke Kennard (12 PTS) providing a late spark to try and keep them competitive, although it failed.
LeBron was away from the Lakers for the last nine days, missing three games in the process where the Lakers went 1-2. Their last performance without LeBron was tragic, as the team managed to score just 87 points as a whole against the Timberwolves, sorely missing LeBron’s on-ball creation to make Anthony Davis’ night easier.
LeBron can’t remain the No. 1 option but there’s no playmaker on the Lakers who even compares to him. He’s averaging 22.8 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 9.1 assists this season, with the Lakers having most of their success when James is embracing being pass-first and feeding players like Davis or Reaves on the perimeter, depending on if Reaves is shooting well or not.
James’ absence from the Lakers was mysterious but now that he’s back on the court, it seems the franchise will push forward and try to win as many games as possible. They have some really challenging fixtures to end the year, so they need stars like Davis and LeBron to be healthy and available as they head into the new year with potential reinforcements coming via trade.
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