The Los Angeles Lakers have been rolling the past week as they strung together a modest winning streak. The Lakers kicked off their road trip with an impressive comeback win over the Milwaukee Bucks, but didn’t get to celebrate for very long as they took on the Memphis Grizzlies the next night.
Memphis is a shell of the team that Los Angeles saw in the first round of last year’s playoffs due to Ja Morant’s absence, making this a must-win for the purple and gold. Anthony Davis was ruled out after gutting through the double overtime period the night before, but L.A. did get LeBron James back in the lineup.
After a relatively close first half, the Lakers pulled away in the second half to beat the Grizzlies and bring their winning streak up to five games.
With Davis out, Los Angeles needed someone to assume more scoring responsibility and Rui Hachimura was up to the task as he was aggressive looking for his shot from the opening tip. Like the postseason, Hachimura had another strong performance against Memphis as he took advantage of the open looks he got.
The Japan native could hardly miss from the field, especially from beyond the arc where he tied his career-high for made 3-pointers with seven. Hachimura led all scorers with 32 points on 11-of-14 shooting but he also added 10 rebounds to secure another double-double. He also played well defensively, picking up two blocks.
James looked much more spry with a day off as he had an extra pep in his step. There were several occasions where James pushed the pace in transition for baskets or free throws, but he also was masterful controlling the offense.
James needed to re-enter the game in the fourth quarter after Memphis made a valiant run, but he ended their hopes of a comeback by dropping a triple-double of 24 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists in 35 minutes.
Austin Reaves may not have had a great night shooting the basketball as he went 4-of-12 from the field, but he was excellent as a playmaker. Reaves had 11 assists to go along with 14 points.
Meanwhile, Taurean Prince led the bench unit with 15 points with nine of them coming from distance.
What’s next for Lakers
The Lakers will get a day off before they face off against the Indiana Pacers on Friday. They’ll then continue their road trip when they take on the Brooklyn Nets on Easter Sunday.
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