D’Angelo Russell scored 24 points and Anthony Davis had 19 points, 11 rebounds, and six blocked shots as the Los Angeles Lakers went on to register their third straight win, beating the Memphis Grizzlies 134-107 in the NBA In-Season Tournament. LeBron James had 16 points and nine rebounds in only 23 minutes of action for the Lakers, who advanced to 5-0 at home and 2-0 in tournament play with their first easy win of the season. American point guard Russell made six of the Lakers’ 22 3-pointers, tying a franchise record, while Austin Reaves made four while scoring 16 points, 12 rebounds, and seven assists. After struggling with shooting in the first ten games of the season, Los Angeles made 58% of its shots and hit 62.9% of its 3-point attempts against Memphis, outrebounding Memphis 54-33.
Los Angeles, which hadn’t won a game by more than six points before jumping to a 31-point lead over the Grizzlies in the second half and coasting home with James, Davis, and Russell all sitting out the entire fourth quarter, was led by Rui Hachimura, who scored 12 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter. Santi Aldama scored a career-high 24 points for the Grizzlies, who lost two more players to injury while trying to build on their surprise victory over the Clippers on Sunday.
Marcus Smart suffered a left ankle injury in the first quarter and did not return. After landing awkwardly on Reaves’ foot, the veteran guard struggled to put weight on his foot. When Memphis gets home, Smart will be re-evaluated. For the Grizzlies, Luke Kennard missed the second half with left knee soreness. Memphis shot 20 3-pointers but struggled to score in the paint against a Los Angeles defense led by Davis.
After an altercation under the basket between Davis and Aldama, the teams received a total of five technical fouls in the first quarter. After Davis scored, Aldama took the ball and approached Davis, who retaliated by shoving the Spaniard. Russell shoved Desmond Bane after he addressed Davis. Jenkins received a T as well.
The Lakers then cruised to a 74-51 halftime advantage in their highest-scoring first half of the season, led by Davis’s 15 points and eight rebounds. James returned after missing Sunday’s win over Portland to rest his ailing shin, but Los Angeles was missing Gabe Vincent and Jarrett Vanderbilt, who has been cleared to resume his comeback from a heel ailment that has kept him out all season.
