The Lakers made their way over to Memphis tonight after suffering back to back losses. The last time the Lakers faced the Grizzlies at FedEx Forum was just over a month ago and the Lakers came out victorious. However, Memphis was without Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol and the Lakers had Kobe Bryant on the court.
Tonight, the Grizzlies bigs are back and Bryant is still sidelined. Nick Young remains on the bench with knee soreness along with Steve Nash and Chris Kaman who is sitting out due to a sore back. The Lakers would be looking to their bigs, Jordan Hill, Robert Sacre and Pau Gasol to nab rebounds, protect the paint and help pull out a victory.
First Quarter
The Lakers struggled from the start with turnovers and offensive rebounds but Wes Johnson was able to get the momentum going for the purple and gold hitting back to back shots. Jodie Meeks showed his athleticism with a drive down the lane to lay it up and in. However, the Lakers were unable to stop the Grizzlies on defense, allowing a 7-0 run to put them down early.
Johnson kept the Lakers alive hitting a deep two to bring them within four points, 22-18, with just over 2:00 minutes left . Jordan Farmar came into the game and dropped a layup and a three-pointer in back to back shots. Wes Johnson was the first quarter standout, putting up nine points with two blocks. However, after one the Lakers trailed the Grizzlies, 31-23.
Second Quarter
Jordan Hill tipped in a missed three-point attempt by Farmar to notch the first points of the second quarter. Robert Sacre hit a big dunk off the dish from MarShon Brooks but the Lakers still trailed by 13 halfway through the 2nd.
Brooks had a dunk of his own off a Kendall Marshall assist and a Pau layup got himself on the scoreboard. Despite threes from Jodie Meeks and Wes Johnson, the Laker’s lack of defense put them in a deep hole. Wes Johnson continued to lead the team in points with 12 and four blocks, followed by MarShon Brooks with nine points and Jodie Meeks with eight. The Lakers closed out the first half down, 65-46.
Third Quarter
Pau hit the first shot of the quarter, his signature jumper of course. Jodie Meeks hit back to back shots early in the quarter but followed those up with a turnover, which was the 11th of the night for the Lakers. Pau hit another fadeaway jumper right over his brother Marc Gasol but the Lakers still trailed the Grizzlies, 70-54, with less than eight minutes still left in the third.
Jodie Meeks kept the energy high driving to the basket to make a layup with a foul for the three-point play. Wes Johnson drained a three followed by a jumper from Pau to cut the lead to 12 after a 10-0 run with 3:10 left in the third. MarShon Brooks and Jodie Meeks hit back to back threes to bring the Lakers within seven. At the end of the third, the Lakers were down 82-73 with Meeks leading the pack with 19 points and four rebounds.
Fourth Quarter
Ryan Kelly hit a three, his first basket of the night, to start off the fourth coupled with two big blocks. Pau took it to the hole for a big slam but the Lakers found themselves down but double digits yet again with 6:40 left in the game. Jordan Farmar and Kent Bazemore buried back to back three’s raising the Laker total to 11 on the night. Unfortunately, it was too little too late. Despite the late run to bring the lead down to as little as three, the Lakers failed to complete the comeback, falling to the Grizzlies by five, 108-103.
