When it was announced shortly before the tip for Game 2 that Ja Morant would not play due to a hand injury, it looked like the Los Angeles Lakers would have a major advantage.
But the Memphis Grizzlies came out and played with the sense of urgency they needed to after dropping Game 1 on Sunday.
They beat the Lakers in numerous aspects, especially in the hustle categories, allowing them to tie the best-of-seven first-round series 1-1 with a 103-93 win. They led early 14-7, increased that lead to 15 at halftime and never looked back, despite a couple of mini-runs by Los Angeles.
Desmond Bane hurt the Lakers early, shooting 5-of-7 in the first quarter, but it was Xavier Tillman, who is filling in for the injured Steven Adams, who ended up being the MVP of the contest for Memphis. He finished with a career-high 22 points on 10-of-13 shooting, to go along with 13 rebounds.
Los Angeles had trouble offensively all game, shooting just 41.2% overall and 26.9% from 3-point range. Although it committed just 12 turnovers, the Grizzlies capitalized by turning them into easy points.
On the bright side, the Lakers did what they wanted to do in these first two games: take one and steal home-court advantage from Memphis. The next two games will take place in L.A., with Game 3 tipping off at 7 p.m. Pacific time on Saturday.