Lakers take 3–1 series lead in OT win over Grizzlies
LOS ANGELES — The Lakers beat the Grizzlies 117-111 on Monday in a gritty overtime win to take a 3-1 series lead.
With 6.7 seconds left, down by two points, and a roaring crowd in anticipation, the awe of playoff atmosphere basketball emerged at a full capacity Crypto.com Arena as LeBron continued to define the odds at the age of 38. LeBron muscled his way through traffic to get to the paint and bank in the layup just over the fingertips of Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr. to tie the game at 104 and send it to overtime.
The Lakers outscored the Grizzles 13-7 in overtime with the help of aggressiveness from LeBron, drawing a big and-1 bucket and giving a roaring scream toward the Lakers crowd to cement the win.
At 38 years, 115 days old, LeBron became the oldest player in NBA history to record 20 or more points and 20 or more rebounds in a playoff game.
LeBron finished with 22 points, 20 rebounds, seven assists, and two steals while shooting 44.4% from the floor on 8-for-18.
“I’ve done some pretty cool things in my career. I’ve never had 20 and 20 before,” said LeBron.
A determined fourth-quarter effort paved the way for the gritty win, starting with D’Angelo Russell’s three straight triples to rock the Crypto crowd.
Head coach Darvin Ham praised Russell, giving him a shoutout for his play that gave the team a spark when they were struggling offensively.
“He put us on his back offensively," said Ham. “If D-Lo doesn’t play the way he played, we don’t win this game.”
Russell finished with 17 points on 3-for-8 shooting from three and 7-for-15 shooting overall.
Starting the game with just four points through the first three quarters, Anthony Davis capitalized late in the fourth with constant effort in controlling the paint and staying aggressive on the glass. In 41 minutes played, Davis finished with 12 points, 11 rebounds, four blocks, two assists, and two steals, scoring eight of his 12 points late in the fourth quarter and overtime.
“The energy of the crowd, our fans have been phenomenal,” said Davis. “So we just feed off of them.”
Austin Reaves was the Lakers' leading scorer, continuing his knack for drawing fouls by going 7-for-8 from the charity stripe, with the Lakers crowd giving him MVP chants. Reaves finished with 23 points, six assists, four rebounds, and a steal while going 7-for-15 from the floor.
In 19 minutes, most of them coming in the first half, Jarred Vanderbilt gave the Lakers a first-half spark, finishing the ballgame with 15 points, six rebounds, and three blocks while going 66.6% from the floor on 6-of-9 shooting.
Game 5 will be on the road for the Lakers in a Wednesday matchup at 4:30 p.m. on Spectrum SportsNet and TNT.
