Lakers extend win streak to five games in win over Grizzlies

MEMPHIS, Tenn.—Momentum is riding high and winning streaks continue for the Lakers in their fifth straight victory on Wednesday in their 136-124 mauling over the fractured Memphis Grizzlies.

On the second night of a back-to-back and coming off a double-overtime comeback against the Bucks, the Lakers went into Memphis without bigman Anthony Davis, who hyperextended his left knee in Milwaukee on top of playing a career-high 52 minutes — leading to the smart decision of sitting the nine-time all-star.

Without a four-time All-Defensive presence in the paint, the Lakers looked to a fresh LeBron James, who didn't play on Tuesday, resting from an “exhausted” feeling from Sunday’s high-scoring win over the Pacers. 

Instead, they were led by Rui Hachimura, who made a career-high seven threes, rewinding it back to last season's second-round matchup against the same foe, where they dared him to shoot — which didn't pay off for Memphis. The same fate was met, resulting in Hachimura’s career night, scoring a game-high 32 points on 11-of-14 shooting from the field.

“When I came here this morning, I got all the flashbacks from last year, playtime,” Hachimura said. “We have good memories here. We had pretty good games here. I was happy to be able to come back here; it's been almost a year…it was a great win.

A tweet resurfaced after Game 1 of last season's series between the two when Grizzlies guard Desmond Bane said this about Hachimura: “It’s probably the best game of his career. It’s a seven-game series. Let’s see if he can do it again Wednesday.”

You can say Hachimura has taken it personally when he sees this team with extra juice in his step.

LeBron earned his fourth triple-double of the season with 23 points, 14 rebounds, and 12 assists.

Despite their battles, all season long with injuries, Gabe Vincent (played five games), Jarred Vanderbilt (29 games played), and Christian Wood (arthroscopic knee surgery), the Lakers have pushed themselves into a good position now, nine games over .500 (41–32) in the 9th spot in the West. 

“Our health has always been the most important thing for our ballclub,” LeBron said.

Head coach Darvin Ham spoke about Davis' availability in the next matchup, saying, “We’ll see how it goes tomorrow when he gets up.”

The Lakers' next game is against a familiar opponent on Friday versus the 41–33 Indiana Pacers on the road at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. It is their second game in six days.