Lakers' edge Grizzlies in energetic Game 3.
LOS ANGELES — The Lakers took a 2-1 series lead on Saturday after a 111-101 win over the Grizzlies with a roaring start to set the tone early.
In their first home playoff game in a decade, the Lakers' crowd was loud and effective in their win over Memphis, and the team fed off of it. The Lakers got off to an emphatic 35-9 lead after the end of the first quarter, marking the best quarter the team has had all season and coming at the right time.
“Our crowd was phenomenal. We felt them in the building,” said head coach Darvin Ham. “We look forward to having the same thing on Monday.”
Worry struck every Lakers fan at Crypto late in the fourth quarter when Ja Morant scored 22 straight points to get the lead to single digits. Morant finished with a near triple-double of 45 points, 13 assists, and nine rebounds.
After an underperforming 13 points in Game 2’s loss, Anthony Davis bounced back with a tone-setting performance in Game 3. Davis finished with a team-high 31 points on 11-for-24 shooting from the floor, adding 17 rebounds, three blocks, two steals, and two assists in 38 minutes.
After calling LeBron James “old” in a post-game interview after Game 2, Dillon Brooks was the villain at the Crypto from the Lakers crowd, hearing boos grow louder and louder after every missed shot. Brooks’ final stat line was finished prematurely after getting ejected after swiping for the ball and cup-checking LeBron in the “crown jewels,” as he described it. Brooks finished 1-for-5 shooting from three and 3-for-13 total from the field.
Energy was the keyword for LeBron when he described the home crowd, giving the crowd more and more to cheer about as the game went on, with the team and the crowd becoming in sync in a beautiful NBA playoff atmosphere.
“It was amazing. They gave us all the energy; we just tried to repay it back with energy and effort,” said LeBron.
LeBron finished with 25 points, nine rebounds, and five assists while shooting 50% from the field on a 10-for-20 shooting total.
Rui Hachimura made playoff history for the Lakers in the first two games with his 20-point performance, giving the series an off-the-bench scoring threat as he continued that success for the third straight game.
Hachimura started off the bench with seven quick points and a perfect 4-for-4 shooting in his first three minutes of play, ending the game with 16 points and five rebounds while shooting 60% from the field on a 6-for-10 (60%) shooting total.
Rui Hachimura in three games this series:
Game 1: 29 points
Game 2: 20 points
Game 3: 16 points
Hachimura has been flawless from the bench and will indeed be in for a payday this offseason if he continues this level of success.
Game 4 will remain at home for the Lakers in a Monday matchup at 7:00 p.m. on Spectrum SportsNet and TNT.
