Los Angeles Lakers 128 vs 112 Memphis Grizzlies summary: stats and highlights | NBA Playoffs
The seven seed Los Angeles Lakers took home court away from the two seed Memphis Grizzlies is Game 1 from FedEx Forum on Sunday afternoon. Rui Hachimura led the Lakers with 29 points off the bench in the 128-112 victory.
Lakers stay hot
The Lakers came into the playoffs as the hottest team in the league winning 10 of their last 12 including the Play-In game against Minnesota and came into the opening round as many peoples favorites in the series.
They got out to a much better start to the game against the Grizzlies then they did against the T'Wolves in the Play-In Game on Tuesday. Anthony Davis got LA going doing a little bit of everything in the opening quarter. He had 8 points, and two blocks to help the Lakers build a 10 point advantage in the first 10 minutes of the game.
The Grizzlies clawed back after going down double digits thanks to Jaren Jackson Jr. who could not be stopped all night long. The battle between him and Davis almost came to an abrupt halt after Davis went to the locker room after suffering a shoulder injury. He was seen telling the bench he couldn’t move his right arm while heading off the court but would come back to the game in the second half with the Lakers down six.
Ja injured wrist, didn’t return
Jackson ended the game with 31 points, but the Lakers would heat up from downtown after the break, especially Rui Hachimura. In his opening playoff game with the Lakers he drilled four threes in the third quarter to give the Lakers the lead back heading into the fourth quarter.
LeBron had a relatively quiet game, but hit some big threes in the final 12 minutes. The Grizzlies were hanging with the Lakers until Ja Morant was involved in a collision with Anthony Davis, and landed on his right hand with under six minutes to go in the game. He went running to the locker room and wouldn’t come back.
Game 2 on Wednesdayfrom Memphis
The Lakers would take command after the Grizzlies super star left the court, and would end the game on a 15-0 run. Austin Reaves was a big part of that run, scoring 9 straight Lakers points in a 14 point fourth quarter and finished the game with 23 points in his playoff debut.
The Lakers took Game 1 and will look to steal another one before heading to LA for Game 3. For the Grizzlies, the focus will shift on Ja Morant and that injured right wrist as they look to even up the series before hitting the road. X-rays after the game came back negative, but the Grizzlies say he is in serious jeopardy of missing Game 2 on Wednesday.
The Lakers ended the game on a 15-0 run, and Reaves had 9 straight points in 14 point fourth quarter to finish the game with 23 points in his playoff debut.
A couple of playoff rookies took over in the second half for the Lakers and led LA to the Game 1 win.
LeBron didn't have to be great in Game 1 but of course he was going to have his say in the fourth quarter.
Rui Hachimura hit four threes in the third quarter, and added another in the fourth to complete a 29 point night in his first playoff game as a Laker.
AD did a little of everything on Sunday, scoring 22 points grabbing 12 boards, blocked 7 shots and dished 3 assists and 3 steals against the Grizzlies in Game 1.
AD came back in the second half after suffering the shoulder injury and looked back to his best after a serious scare before the break.
Austin Reaves was playing in his first playoff game ever on Sunday and he looked like a season vet against the Grizzlies.
How many times have we seen LeBron come from behind and swat someones shot in transition. This time it was Bane who got stuffed at the rim.
AD had 8 points and two blocks in the first quarter before heading to the locker room with a shoulder injury. He would return in the second half.
LeBron helped the Lakers get out to a 10 point lead early on with this high flying jam after the steal.
AD jumped out of the gate quick and put the Lakers up early. He did a little bit of everything in the opening 12 minutes.
IT'S ALL OVER!!! THE LAKERS TAKE GAME 1 AFTER AN INCREDIBLE FOURTH QUARTER!!!
Reaves picks up the rebound and hits AD on the outlet for the fast break lay up!
Timeout MEM with 30 to go and this game is all over!
Hachimura goes coast to coast and finishes with a flush!
Davis with the steal and he takes it coast to coast for the slam!
AD at the line and he hits both FTs.
Reaves pulling up in the paint and he gets the roll and sees it fall!
7-0 run for the Lakers and the Grizzlies call a timeout with 1:30 to go in the 4th quarter.
Reaves pulls up from the top of the key and drills it! He's got 12 points in the 4th quarter!!!
Reaves with the scoop after weaving through the lane and finishing off the glass.
Jackson Jr. splashes a three ball and he's got 31 on the night!!
Reaves pulls up from the elbow and he downs the jumper.
Brooks answers back with a three ball to cut the lead back to 2 with under 4 minutes left in the 4th.
Hachimura drills a three ball from the top of the key after a behind the back pass from Reaves on the baseline!
Jackson Jr. with another floater in the lane and he is keeping the Grizzlies in the game with Ja in the locker room.
Timeout Lakers with 4:38 to go in the 4th quarter.
`Jackson Jr. backing down Vanderbilt and he hits the hook shot and gets the foul! FT is good to complete the three point play.
LeBron hits a huge three ball and the Lakers are on a 10-0 run with 5:26 to go in the fourth quarter.
Timeout MEM who find themselves down by 7 all of the sudden.
Morant just came down hard after a collision with AD and looks like he hurt his right hand. He went right to the locker room after the fall.
Morant just came down hard after a collision with AD and looks like he hurt his right hand. He went right to the locker room after the fall.
Reaves drills a three off the kick out from Hachimura!
Hachimura on the baseline and he hits the turnaround jumper to give the Lakers the lead.
Timeout Grizzlies with 7:28 to go in the fourth quarter.
Reaves fouled by Jones on the pull up and he hits both FTs.
Jones lobs it up for Jackson Jr. who brought it down and finished with a hook shot.
Brook with a eurostep and the lay up to give the Grizzlies the lead back with under 10 to go in the fourth quarter!
Jones hangs it high off the glass after the hook shot and the Lakers are withing 1.
Hachimura explodes to the basket and finishes with a flush! What a second half he is having!
Bane with the lay up on the break after Jackson Jr. came up with the steal.
Jones starts the fourth quarter with a three ball and he cuts the lead in half!
Schroder slices through the defense and finishes with the scoop lay up off the glass!
That's how the third quarter will end! LA took the lead back after Hachimura got hot with 4 threes in the quarter. Davis came back after the halftime break and that spurred the LA comebac.
Brooks going at the rack and just got it up in time before LeBron came crashing in for the block.
LeBron answers back and sticks a three from the top of the key!
Brooks steps into a three ball and he finally sees it go in after missing his first 5!
Hachimura is ON FIRE in this third quarter!!! Four threes in the third quarter!
Jackson Jr. over the top to Aldama for the lay up on the alley oop!
Hachimura drills another three ball out of the timeout! That's three this quarter!
LA takes a timeout with 2:53 to go in the third quarter!
Schroder dumps it off for Davis who soars to the rack and finishes with the slam.
Hachimura with back to back threes off another dish from Russell and we are tied up!
Morant pulls up from the elbow and hits the mid range jumper. He's got 8 points in the last few minutes.
Hachimura sticks a corner three off the kickout from Russell!
Morant with another three ball and he's starting to warm up from downtown in this third quarter!
Russell hits the mid range jumper and he's leading the Lakers in scoring tonight.
Morant on the catch and release for his first three ball of his night!
Russell drills the three ball in the corner off the kick out from Reaves!
Davis pulls the trigger from the mid range and the Grizzlies lead by just three.
MEM takes a timeout with under 7 to go in the third quarter.
Reaves on the floater down the lane for his first bucket of the second half.
Bane answers back with a long range effort off the dish from Tillman.
James steps up and drills a three ball from the top of the key to cut the lead to 4!
Bane with five quick points after the three FTs he gets the lay up going coast to coast.
Bane was fouled by Reaves on the three ball and he hits all three from the line.
Outlet pass from AD to LeBron who goes right at Bane, gets the lay up and the foul! FT is no good.
Davis on the floater in the lane and his shoulder looked ok on that shot.
Russell of the dribble and hits a tough mid range jumper over Bane.
Jackson Jr. on the floater in the lane and he's got 21 on the night.
WE ARE BACK IN PLAY IN THE SECOND HALF AND AD IS BACK ON THE FLOOR TO START THE QUARTER!
Ja got going early in the second quarter and was a big part of the turnaround in the second quarter.
The Lakers went up by 10 in the first quarter, but they would give up that lead in the second quarter thanks to threes like this one form Santi Aldama.
Jackson Jr. had a brilliant first half, and got off the block in a fury. He hs 19 first half points and a couple blocks on the defensive end.
Davis came out strong doing a little bit of everything, but that shoulder injury is a real cause for concern for AD and LA.
LeBron doing LeBron things in transition picking up the loose ball and slamming it on the break.
Davis and the Lakers got off to a quick start going up by double digits. He found Vanderbilt for the slam and had 8 points in the first quarter.
Russell leads the Lakers going into the halftime break with 12 points after a slow start. James and AD both have 10, but the real story for LA is the status of Davis' shoulder. He went off the floor saying he couldn't move his arm.
The Grizzlies go into the half up 6 thanks to Jackson Jr.'s 19 points. Ja turned it on in the second quarter and has 10 at the half while Bane has 12.
Ja pulls up from the FT line, and that's how the first half is going end!
LA was up 10 at one point, but the Grizzlies battled back and now they lead by 6!
Jackson Jr. in the corner and he stokes the three ball off the kickout from Bane!
Russell drops a three ball to bring the Lakers back within one with under a minute to go.
Jackson Jr. off the glass on the block.
Davis has just been subbed out after a run in with Jackson Jr. and he heads to the bench as we go to timeou with 1:15 to go in the half.
Jackson Jr. working on LeBron down low and he hits the turn around hook shot off the glass.
LeBron to the line after getting fouled by Ja, and he hits one of two.
Under two minutes to go in the first half from Memphis.
James gets the bucket AND 1 after the offensive rebound off the Reaves missed three. FT is good to complete the three point play.
Morant pulls up from mid range and he hits the jumper. He's got 8 points on the night.
Russell wiggling into the paint and gets the runner to drop off the back iron.
Kennard on the offensive board and put back off the miss from Bane.
Aldama with this second three of the game from the same corner he hit his first three from.
Russell answers right back with a catch and shoot three to give the Lakers the lead back.
Bane steps into a three from the top of the key and hits it to give the Grizzlies their first lead in the second quarter!
Kennard at the line and he hits both FTs. after the foul on Vanderbilt.
Jones streaking down the lane and lays it up off the glass.
Reaves running the break and lobbed it up for AD who came in with the hammer on the alley oop!
Entry pass to LeBron who had Kinnard on him and he put up the easy lay up.
Morant with the steal and the slam and the Lakers one time 10 point lead is down to one!
Timeout LA with 7:37 to go in the half.
Kennard was left wide open in the corner after the kickout from Roddy and he drills his first three of the night.
Jackson Jr. pivots between a double team down low and gets the lay up to go.
Russell hits the second of two FTs after the timeout.
Russell was fouled by Bane and he hits a FT before the Grizzlies take a timeout.
Bane at the line and he hits both FTs after the foul on Brown Jr.
Hachimura hits two of two FTs after a foul on Brooks, that's his second.
Hachimura crashing the boards, snatches the offensive rebound and puts it back with a slam.
Bane at the line and he hits both FTs after the foul on Schroder.
James drives baseline and gets the reverse to fall off the glass.
Brooks at the line after the foul on Beasley and he hits both FTs.
Schroder pull up from behind the arc and nails the three ball for his first field goal of the game.
Jackson Jr. taking advantage of his mismatch down low and hits the jump hook over Hachimura.
We are at the end of the first quarter, and the Lakers are up by 5. They were up by as many as 10 thanks to 8 points from AD and 7 from Reaves.
Jackson Jr. has 8 points to lead the Grizz. Ja has just 4 after the first.
Schroder at the line after the foul on Bane and he hits both FTs.
Jones hits the floater in the lane over Davis and the Grizzlies are on a 7-0 run.
Aldama was open for three and the corner and he strokes it for his first points of the night.
Bane stops and pops from the FT line and he hits the jumper.
Brown Jr. strokes a three ball from the top of the key out of the timeout!
LA will take a timeout up 7 with 2:41 to go in the first quarter.
Hachimura had a wide open path to the lane and finished with a furious slam!
Davis hits another mid range jumper and he's got 8 points already.
Jackson Jr. on the jam down the lane and what a battle that awaits us between him and AD.
Russell finally gets his first points of the night on a floater in the paint.
Jackson at the line after a foul on Hachimura and he hits both FTs.
Hachimura off the bench and gets the tip in to fall after the missed shot by Davis.
Davis pulls up with a mid range jumper and he's off to a nice start. He's got six early points.
Bane drills a three ball off the kickout from Brooks and that's the first three for Memphis' day.
James flying to the iron and throws it down with authority on the break!
Vanderbilt lauches up a turnaround jumper on the baseline with the clock running down and hits the mid ranger.
AD comes up with the rebound after an air balled floater from Reaves, and dunks it from down low.
Jackson backing down defenders on the block and finishes with the turn around out of the timeout
Reaves walks into a three ball after the dish from James and strokes a triple try!
TO Memphis with 7:31 to go in the first quarter.
Morant comes up with a steal after Davis couldn't handle the rebound and goes coast to coast and the up and under lay up falls.
Jackson fights off James and finishes in the paint
Reaves at the line and he hits both FTs after the foul on Brooks.
Tillman goes right at the body of AD and finishes the short range effort off the glass.
Russell drives, gets inside the paint, and dumps it off for Davis who finishes with a jam.
AD found Vanderbilt cutting down the lane and he found him for a two handed jam.
Brooks at the line after the foul on Russell and he hits one of two FTs.
Reaves running the break and he takes the contact and hits the fader in the lane.
Brooks slices down the lane and gets the gliding finger roll to go.
Morant goes right at the rack after AD came up with a big block on the first possession and Ja finishes with a lay up to start the scoring today.
WE ARE UNDERWAY IN GAME 1 FROM MEMPHIS!!!
It's LeBron and AD are the stars for LA, but Reaves, Vanderbilt and Russell have to have their say tonight against a fantastic Grizziles team.
Ja Morant headlines the Grizzlies starting five but one of the most important pieces of the puzzle is going to be Jaren Jackson Jr. He is one of the best shot blockers in the league and is going to limit Anthony Davis on the offensive end.
Brooks vs. LeBron
Dillon Brooks has maybe the most important job of anyone on the Grizzlies during this series against the Lakers. He will be tasked with trying to stop LeBron in Round 1. He is one of those guys you love to have on your team, but hate to play against. Brooks is going to try to get under the skin of LeBron tonight and for the rest of the series.
Head-to-head
The Lakers and the Grizzlies have played three times this series and it’s LA who have the edge over Memphis going into this playoff series. They won the opening matchup back in January to snap the Grizzlies season high 11 game win streak in a 122-121 victory in LA. The Grizzlies got the next game in Memphis against the new look Lakers to begin the month of March thanks to Ja Morant’s 39 points in the days leading up to his incident in the Denver strip club. The Lakers would take down the Grizzlies just a few days after the Ja incident with a 112-103 win to take the season series, but so far it’s been the home teams taking care of business under their own roof. Today the Lakers will try to change that as the Grizzlies hope to continue that trend.
The King of the Forum back at home
The Memphis Grizzlies are led by Ja Morant, but they don’t rely on the high flying super star. They did just fine without him during his late season suspension as Jaren Jackson and Desmond Bane carried the team in the absence of their All-Star. Ja averaged 26.2 ppg this season and having him back in prime form for a deep postseason run is only going to help.
LA his the road for Game 1
Talk about the midseason moves made by the Lakers all you want, but in the end it’s going to come down to LeBron and Anthony Davis during the playoffs. They have both dealt with injuries this season, but seem to be hitting stride as the postseason begins and that could spell trouble for the Grizzlies and the rest of the Western Conference. LeBron finished his 20th season as the sixth leading scorer in the league at 28.9 points per game and AD is getting 25.9 an outing and grabbing a league leading 12.6 boards a game.
How they got here: Grizzlies
Everything was smooth sailing for the Memphis Grizzlies and Ja Morant for most of the season, as they looked to improve on a season that saw the fall to the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference Semis. December and January really separated the Grizz from the rest of the pack as Memphis went on a seven game win streak in the last month of 2022 and started 2023 on an 11 game win streak to keep close with the Conference leading Denver Nuggets. Things were looking up in Memphis, but Ja Morant streamed a video from a strip club wielding a gun and was suspended for eight game as a result. The Grizzlies played great basketball without him and were able to pounce into second place in the West and once Ja came back they eased into the playoffs with the two seed.
How they got here: Lakers
LA were knocking on the door of missing the playoffs for a second straight year after a horrendous start in which they lost five straight a 10 of their first 12 to start the season. The combo of LeBron, AD and Westbrook wasn’t working, and on top of that the Lakers were the worst shooting team from the perimeter in the league. A midseason make over changed the course of the Lakers campaign, as they ditched some dead weight including Russell Westbrook, and brought in fresh faces like Jared Vanderbilt, Tony Brown Jr., D’Angelo Russell and Malik Beasley. They lost just seven games after the All-Star Break and had the best record to end the season of any team in the league after a run to end the season that saw them win 9 of their last 11. That didn’t spare them from the Play-In Tournament, but they survived a scare from the Timberwolves at home to lock up the seven seed in the West.
We are live from the Forum
Hello everyone and welcome to Memphis where the Grizzlies are looking to take the next step as a franchise, but they will have to get through the winningest franchise in the league and led by the league’s all-time leading scorer. Memphis has been at the top of the standings all season long and now look to back their regular season up with a deep run into the playoffs. The Lakers looked like they were on the verge of missing the playoffs before the All-Star break but had a huge turnaround and come into the postseason as the hottest team in the league.
Lakers vs. Grizzlies
It’s Game 1 of the first round of the Western Conference Playoffs from Memphis as the second seeded Grizzlies host the seven seeded Los Angeles Lakers is one of the most fascinating series to start the postseason. AS English will be with you all night providing live coverage, stats, highlights and analysis of this afternoon’s game from FedEx Forum.