The Los Angeles Lakers fell to 1-4 in their last five games with a 114-131 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, as the franchise’s 3-0 hot start to the season has dissipated. The Lakers were without Anthony Davis, but LeBron James stepped up in his absence to try and carry the team to the win.
Ja Morant hit Lakers guard Gabe Vincent with a ‘too small’ taunt after a bucket during the game, prompting LeBron to respond by scoring a bucket on Morant and throwing the taunt right back at the 25-year-old Grizzlies guard. Morant would pick up a technical foul for bumping LeBron on his next bucket, which then led to James getting a stop on Morant for the final possession of this sequence.
Fun last couple of possessions between Ja Morant and LeBron James
Ja scores and calls Gabe Vincent too small
Next possession LeBron scores on Ja and calls HIM too small
Ja then scores again and bumps LeBron, gets a technical.
LeBron gets a stop right before the half pic.twitter.com/fIVKy4vKQd
— Avery Braxton (@Brax_Avery) November 7, 2024
James had no hard feelings with Morant, complimenting the guard after the game.
“The energy alone, the inspiration that he gives to the younger generation alone was huge for our league and it’s great to have him back out there for sure.”
LeBron on Ja:
"The energy alone, the inspiration that he gives to the younger generation alone was huge for our league and it's great to have him back out there for sure" pic.twitter.com/vujoEkwIai
— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) November 7, 2024
The competitive fire from LeBron in this contest went unmatched, as none of the Lakers showed up with any defensive focus or ability to impact the game. James’ 39 points, seven rebounds, and six assists were complemented by Austin Reaves’ 19 points and Cam Reddish’s 15 points, but it wasn’t nearly enough to win this contest.
The Grizzlies had three 20-point scorers in Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr., and rookie Jaylen Wells, while also having four other players score in double-digits. There was simply too much for the thin Lakers rotation to take care of without their defensive anchor present.
Morant didn’t have a great game and would eventually sub out with injury concerns, but he led his team admirably on the court so as not to be intimidated by the Lakers or LeBron. Despite LeBron easily being the best player on the court for this win, the Grizzlies trusted their strength in numbers to pull this win out.
The result of this game was primarily decided by the three-ball, as the Grizzlies shot 17-34 from beyond the arc, a whopping 50% clip which resulted in 51 points for Memphis. The Lakers responded by shooting 15-48 from three as a team. If you take away LeBron’s six makes and five misses, the Lakers shot a paltry 9-37 from three.
They were also thoroughly outrebounded in this loss, losing the board battle 50 to 37, extending their early-season shooting and defensive worries, which were exacerbated by Davis’s absence.
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