Lakers fall to Ja-less Grizzlies in Game 2.
MEMPHIS — The Lakers' opportunity faltered after a 103–03 Game 2 loss on Wednesday to the Grizzlies without Ja Morant, evening the series at 1–1.
LeBron James and Rui Hachimura were the only two other Lakers to finish with at least 20 points, with the rest combining for 45 points in the team's lowest-scoring game of the season.
LeBron struggled to find his shot from three, going 1-for-8 from deep while finishing with a game-high 28 points on 12-for-23 shooting from the field, adding 12 rebounds, three assists, one block, and one steal in 38 minutes.
“We shouldn’t feel comfortable going home with a 1–1 tie,” said LeBron.
After having one of the best bench performances in Lakers playoff history in Game 1, Hachimura followed it up with another outstanding outing, this time all for nothing, with a Lakers loss.
Hachimura finished second on the Lakers with 20 points on 2-for-4 shooting from three and 7-for-12 overall, notching five rebounds, two assists, and one steal in 32 minutes.
The difference in Wednesday’s loss was the lack of production from Anthony Davis and D’Angelo Russell, who shot a combined 6-for-25 (24%) from the field and scored just 18 points combined.
Davis took responsibility for his rough offensive performance and vowed he’d be better in Game 3, saying he wished it was tomorrow instead of Saturday.
“I like the shots I took. I just missed them,” said Davis. “Just flush it and get ready for Game 3.”
Davis finished 4-for-14 from the floor with 13 points, nine rebounds, five blocks, and three assists in 37 minutes.
Russell finished 1-for-5 shooting from three and 2-for-11 overall with 8 points, seven rebounds, and four assists in 30 minutes.
Another eye-opening stat line was the lack of showing from Dennis Schröder and Troy Brown Jr. The pair combined for 0 points in 26 minutes played between the two.
Game 3 will be played back home in Los Angeles on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. on Spectrum SportsNet and ESPN.
