Ja Morant's Alley-Oop Over LeBron James Went Viral
On Wednesday evening, the Memphis Grizzlies defeated the Los Angeles Lakers (at home) 116-99 in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series.
The series was 3-1 in favor of the Lakers, so the Grizzlies were able to fight off elimination and force a Game 6 back in Los Angeles on Friday night.
All-Star point guard Ja Morant had 31 points, ten rebounds, seven assists and one steal in 38 minutes of playing time.
During the game, he had a fantastic play where he caught an alley-oop over four-time NBA Champion LeBron James.
Tyus Jones drove to the basket and tossed up a lob, which Morant threw in the basket over James.
The play went viral on social media.
During the series, Morant has averaged 28.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 1.5 steals per contest while shooting 46.7% from the field and 45.8% from the three-point range.
While the Lakers are the seventh seed and the Grizzlies are the second seed, there is a case to be made that the Lakers are the much more talented team.
Game 6 will be a significant challenge for the Grizzlies because they are just 16-27 in 43 games on the road (the Lakers are 25-18 on their home floor).
If the Grizzlies are able to survive on Friday, Game 7 will be back in Memphis on Sunday.
Whoever wins the series will advance to the second round and face off against either the Golden State Warriors or the Sacramento Kings (the series is currently 3-2 in favor of the Warriors).
