FSM Essential Recap: Lakers vs Grizzlies- Game 11 - 2023

FSM Essential Recap: Lakers vs Grizzlies- Game 11 – 2023

Franchise Sports Media

Los Angeles Lakers (6-5) | Memphis Grizzlies (3-6)

 

The Los Angeles Lakers dominated the Memphis Grizzlies, 134-107, to stay undefeated in the In-Season Tournament.

The Lakers vs Grizzlies played at the Crypto.com Arena on Tuesday.

The Los Angeles Lakers improved to 6-5 after defeating the Memphis Grizzlies, 134-107, going above .500 for the second time this season. They are now 2-0 in the In-Season Tournament after scoring a season-high 134 points and tying a franchise record with 22 made 3s.

“I thought we got good looks in the first 10 games, we’re off to a good start for the next 10,” LeBron James said of the Lakers’ 3-point shooting.

James was questionable to play headed into this one after suffering a shin injury in their 122-119 victory over the Phoenix Suns, however, James said that his shin got better as the game went on. It’s still not 100 percent but he felt good enough to play.

Nonetheless, with the game being as out of hand as it was, all James needed to produce was 16 points (6-of-11 FGs, 3-of-6 3s), nine rebounds, and six assists in just 23 minutes of play.

James’ co-star, Anthony Davis, dominated in his 27 minutes of run, tallying 19 points (7-of-11 FGs, 5-of-6 FTs), 11 rebounds, five assists, and a staggering six blocks.

“He’s really the quarterback of our defense,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said of Davis’ elite ability to defend.

Despite Davis being one of the best, if not the best, defensive players in the league, he was snubbed last year of the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year award by Memphis’ Jaren Jackson Jr. Unexpectedly, Davis said that he didn’t take the matchup with Jackson Jr. personally, he just wanted to go out there and compete.

With Los Angeles not needing huge production from James and Davis, the Lakers received the bulk of the scoring from D’Angelo Russell with 24 points (8-of-12 FGs, 6-of-8 3s) and five assists, and Rui Hachimura with 23 points (8-of-10 FGs, 3-of-3 3s).

“He had one of those DLo runs,” Ham said of Russell. “You have a guy who can go on one of those 12-0 runs by themself, that’s huge. And we have four or five guys that can do that.”

Hachimura said that he watched the four games he was out, noticing how much the Lakers struggled in the first period, and wanted to make an impact when he returned.

“I gotta bring the energy,” Hachimura said. “I gotta change the game, either defensively or offensively.”

For the Grizzlies, Santi Aldama led the way with 24 points (9-of-15 FGs, 3-of-8 3s), five rebounds, four assists, and two steals, David Roddy had 17 points (6-of-17 FGs, 2-of-8 3s), two steals, and two blocks, and Desmond Bane finished with 15 points (5-of-10 FGs, 2-of-6 3s), and five assists.

The Grizzlies got outworked by the Lakers

The Lakers finally got off to a hot start which paved the way for their blowout win over the Grizzles.

The start of the Lakers vs Grizzlies first half. 

Also for Memphis, Marcus Smart left the game in the first quarter with a left ankle injury and never returned. Smart suffered the injury after landing awkwardly on Austin Reaves’ foot. The veteran guard will be re-evaluated when the Grizzlies return home. Memphis guard Luke Kennard also missed the second half with left knee soreness.

“Obviously we’ve got our challenges, but there’s no excuses,” Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said. “Next-man-up mentality. Show that resiliency, that fight. It’s there. I’m seeing it. It’s not leading to the results right now, but brighter days are ahead. We’ve just got to endure and overcome. Injuries come and go. They’re stacked up right now. So be it. Just keep battling. That’s all that we have to focus on.”

Heading into the game, James was locked in early on with his jumper, hitting 3-of-4 FGs (2-of-2 from 3). He combined with Davis on defense (two blocks) to get Los Angeles out in front at 15-9.

The change in the court seemed to have helped the Lakers’ shooting, as they had already matched their 3-point output from Sunday, hitting 4-of-5 triples in the first six minutes. They hit just 4-of-19 in their 116-110 win over the Portland Trail Blazers.

Los Angeles ended up having their best first quarter of the regular season so far, taking a 37-26 lead into the second quarter. Davis was dominant around the rim on both ends, totaling 10 points, five boards, two assists, and two blocks.

The end of the Lakers vs Grizzlies first half. 

It was excellent team energy from the Lakers in their new uniforms, and on the new In-Season Tournament court. Plus, some impressive execution produced a 74-51 halftime lead in Los Angeles’ favor.

The start of the Lakers vs Grizzlies second half. 

The Lakers came in at 5-5 but somehow hadn’t led to start a third quarter before this one.

Cam Reddish drilling corner 3s continued to be a thing. He had three makes from the corner already in this one, on just four attempts, helping extend Los Angeles’ lead to 79-53.

One critique so far of the Lakers was their nine turnovers, but it’s hard to complain when they were up by 27.

An extremely rare six-point possession for the Grizzlies (a flagrant one foul for Reddish on a Bane 3, plus a 3 from Jacob Gilyard as Memphis kept the ball) trimmed Los Angeles’ lead to 18 at 88-70 midway through the third period. While the Lakers remained in firm control, the point differential makes a difference in the IST.

Despite that little burst, a quick 9-0 run from Los Angeles pushed the lead up to 97-72, with six straight points from Russell.

Davis locked up the defensive paint for the Lakers, with all kinds of deterrence, leading to Memphis having only 16 points in the paint thus far (they averaged 48 per game coming into this one).

This one wasn’t quite over yet as it was 107-86 in the Lakers’ favor after three quarters, with the Grizzlies closing the third period on a quick 8-0 run. Still, this had been Los Angeles’ most complete game of the season, so far.

The last thing the Lakers wanted was to have to bring James and Davis back into this game. However, Reaves hit the 20th 3-pointer of the game for Los Angeles, and then Hachimura canned his third triple making it 21. Max Christie tied the franchise record, originally set in 2019 at Boston. (Christie’s first triple of the contest).

At the end of this one, the Group A In-Season Tournament standings are:

 

1. Los Angeles Lakers (2-0), +30
2. Utah Jazz (2-0), +22
3. Portland Trail Blazers (1-1), -14
4. Phoenix Suns (0-1), -3
5. Memphis Grizzlies (0-3), -35

 

Time for injury updates:

Ham said that there will be an update on Gabe Vincent later in the week.

Jarred Vanderbilt, who’s been out since October 7th, was reevaluated by Lakers team doctors and has been cleared to begin a return-to-play progression. Further updates will be provided as appropriate.

The final score of the Lakers vs Grizzlies was 134-107, Lakers.

The Lakers will now take on the Sacramento Kings at Crypto.com Arena on Wednesday, November 15th, at 7:00 pm PST.

 

– Jake Ideguchi-Furukawa – Franchise Sports Media

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