It was a cold start to the game for the Lakers, who missed their first six shots before Patrick Beverley managed to get one to go from 3. Despite the slow beginning, Los Angeles managed to tie things up at nine apiece after Troy Brown Jr. knocked down a corner triple.
LeBron James gave Los Angeles their first lead of the night after draining his own corner three and following it up with a transition layup courtesy of Russell Westbrook. Defensively, the Lakers did a great job of contesting any shots the Grizzlies took, and they finished the first leading 26-23.
James got a patented chase-down block to kick off the second quarter, but second-chance points continued to plague the Lakers, who went back down by five points. Los Angeles managed to keep pace with Memphis on both ends of the floor, though they still trailed by a possession halfway through the period.
Beverley was able to pickpocket Ja Morant and earned two free throws after getting fouled, but the latter responded with a trip to the line of his own to negate the play. The two squads went back and forth at the end of the half, but the Lakers would find themselves down 53-49.
Much like the first half, Beverley started the half off with a 3, while Thomas Bryant followed it up with a pair of dunks to get the Lakers within one. However, Morant started to get going by exploiting the painted area to keep Los Angeles at bay.
The Lakers struggled to clean up the glass on both ends, with Steven Adams, in particular, dominating down low and giving the Grizzlies one too many second chances. As almost every third quarter this season has gone, L.A. began to give way to their opponent and, as such, went into the fourth trailing, 89-81.
The purple and gold began the final quarter with back-to-back 3s and found success attacking the rim to make the deficit manageable. However, their offense stalled out for a bit before Kendrick Nunn hit a much-needed three to bring them within five.
It was a tightly-contested game down the stretch, with the two teams trading baskets almost every time down the floor. In the final seconds, Dennis Schroder came up with a crucial steal that resulted in a three-point play. Brandon Clarke was fouled on the ensuing play, but he split the pair of free throws and allowed the Lakers to steal an improbable victory.
