LeBron James had a game-high 30 points to go with six rebounds and four assists to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to their seventh straight victory, 109-108 over the Memphis Grizzlies. In addition to James, Anthony Davis had 22 points but the Lakers overall had a rough offensive night as they shot lower percentages than Memphis in every category save for free-throws. The Lakers forced 19 turnovers however and they made timely plays for the victory.
For much of Saturday night’s game against the Grizzlies, the Lakers played the part of a team that played the previous night in another city and arrived in Memphis in the wee hours of the morning. But down the stretch, Davis and James both made the requisite plays for the Lakers to match their longest winning streak of the season at seven games.
The Lakers took a 109-106 lead with just over 35 seconds left and after a rebound by Kyle Kuzma, Kuzma lost control of the ball to give the Grizzlies the ball leading to a lay-up by Ja Morant. A missed 3-pointer by James gave the Grizzlies one final shot to win the game with 1.3 sesconds left. The Grizzlies threw a full-court pass down the court and it was deflected by the Lakers to help them escape with the win.
The Lakers had a rough shooting night but they did get some solid production from the bench, especially from Dwight Howard, who had 10 points and nine rebounds on just four field goal attempts. Rajon Rondo had 14 points and six assists but he had 15 points to just three on the night for Kuzma, clearly a a reflection of the way the Grizzlies guarded the Lakers second unit.
Now the Lakers will head back west as they’ll visit the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night.