The Los Angeles Lakers put on their best performance of the season in their 27-point victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday night. LeBron James was back in uniform, the defense was dominant and the Lakers tied a franchise record with 22 3-pointers on the night.
The Lakers shot an unbelievable 62.9% from deep, a huge change from the first 10 games of the season as the Lakers were one of the worst 3-point shooting teams in the league. LeBron, however, believed the looks they were creating were great.
“I thought we had great looks in the first 10 games,” James said after the win. “But we’re off to a good start for the next 10 already.”
Six Lakers hit multiple threes on the night with D’Angelo Russell leading the way, knocking down 6-of-8. Additionally, Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura shot a combined 7-of-7 off the bench and James felt like nobody wanted to be the person to break that momentum.
“Of course. I mean, you don’t want to be that guy,” LeBron added. “You don’t want to be that guy when the team is shooting extremely well, you want to try to chip in and be a part of that. So definitely a great shooting night for us tonight and a good win for us.”
The win was definitely a big one for the Lakers, who improved to 5-0 at home and are 2-0 in the In-Season Tournament. The team seems to be turning a corner early on this season, playing better basketball and having more fun, which LeBron believes comes from everyone holding each other accountable.
“I think holding each other accountable is the ultimate,” the Lakers star said. “I think you have more fun doing that. Guys respond. When you have a team where you have one common goal and that’s to get better every single game, every single day, you hold guys accountable and guys take that to heart and then apply it, I think that’s what fun is all about. Then you go out on the court and you make things happen. So I think a lot of that has to do with it.”
If the Lakers can continue down this path, their ultimate goal of bringing home another championship becomes much more of a possibility.
Lakers’ LeBron James feels more intensity during In-Season Tournament games
The Lakers were locked in from the start against the Grizzlies, which shouldn’t come as a surprise considering it was the second In-Season Tournament game. LeBron James has spoken previously about feeling an increased intensity in these contests and that bared itself out on Tuesday.
After the Lakers first contest, LeBron said that he felt the fans bring more intensity during the game and added that it felt different than a normal regular season game.
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