The Los Angeles Lakers have not been a good 3-point shooting team since LeBron James arrived and the 2023-24 season is no different as the team ranks near the bottom of the league in 3-point percentage and makes.
However, the Lakers caught fire from beyond the arc en route to a blowout win against the Memphis Grizzlies to give themselves a 2-0 record in In-Season Tournament group play.
Los Angeles managed to knock down 22 threes, tying the franchise record that they previously set in 2019. The Lakers shot 62.9 percent from the 3-point line, the highest 3-point field goal percentage with at least 35 attempts in NBA history.
LeBron James returned to the lineup after missing the game against the Portland Trail Blazers and looked no worse for wear as he had his regular burst and speed on the court. James scored 16 points, grabbed nine rebounds and six assists in just 23 minutes of action. He also went 3-of-6 from beyond the arc.
D’Angelo Russell was the leading scorer for the team as he had 24 points on an efficient 8-of-12 shooting from the field and led the team in 3-point makes as he drained six of his eight attempts. The guard was on a heater in the third quarter as he scored 12 points during a stretch to put the game out of reach, allowing himself to rest the entire fourth.
Anthony Davis seemed to take this game personally as he was active on both of the floor from the jump, particularly in his matchup against Jaren Jackson Jr. Davis got going with an early dunk and blocked Jackson twice in the paint, setting the tone for the rest of the night.
Davis has been one of the best two-way players this season and he stacked another great game as he recorded a double-double of 19 points and 11 rebounds to go with five assists and six blocks in 27 minutes.
Perhaps the biggest highlight of the night came in the fourth quarter when Austin Reaves skied an alley-oop to Jaxson Hayes, who threw it down thunderously in transition, Both had solid games off the bench as Reaves finished with 16 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists while Hayes had a season-high 11 points.
Lastly, Rui Hachimura picked up where he left off the last time he saw Memphis as he was a flamethrower on the court. Hachimura was near automatic from the field as he made 8-of-10 of his shots including a perfect 3-of-3 from downtown.
Hachimura finished the night as the second-leading scorer behind Russell with 23 points.
What’s next for Lakers
The Lakers don’t have much time to rest as they take on the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night in a back-to-back before heading on the road to play the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday in their third game of group play for the In-Season Tournament.
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