Lakers Final Score: Exhausted LA Falls To Memphis In Game 5 Blowout
Well, that was disappointing.
Yes, I did predict that the Memphis Grizzlies would win in this fifth game to get back into this best-of-seven series, which your Los Angeles Lakers still lead 3-2, and that they would cover their predicted four-point spread while doing so. But I didn't anticipate LA would be quite that toothless in the second half.
Behind the three-level scoring of star guards Desmond Bane and Ja Morant, plus the stellar two-way play of newly-crowned Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr., the Memphis Grizzlies made sure to be aggressive early and often. The listless Lakers struggled to respond as the Grizz landed blow upon blow.
Things looked patchy more or less from the jump. The Grizzlies couldn't miss, even in the first quarter. Bane paced Memphis with 14 of the team's 38 points in the frame.
The Grizzlies connected on a whopping 51.9% of their looks, including 50% of their eight triples, and out-rebounded LA 15-10 in the period. After one, the Lakers trailed 38-24.
Los Angeles stabilized things somewhat, closing out the second quarter (and the first half) on a 13-8 run to get to within nine at the break, 61-52, thanks mostly to the scoring efforts of Anthony Davis (who had 18 points, 10 boards and two blocks at the break) and Austin Reaves (10 points).
The below clip highlights both the reason LA got within nine (Davis), and the reason the team was trailing to begin with (LeBron James' horrific shooting start).
At the half, James had scored six points while shooting just 2-of-9 from the floor and 2-of-4 from the charity stripe. Clearly, notching a 22-point, 20-rebound double-double in almost 46 minutes two nights ago took its toll on the 38-year-old. One interesting wrinkle: head coach Darvin Ham gave Wenyen Gabriel some actual rotation minutes here, albeit just 3:21.
James made up for his miserable opening half by almost singlehandedly powering LA to within a single point, 75-74, midway through the third quarter.
Unfortunately, Los Angeles then let go of the rope, getting brutally outscored 15-2 in the period's final 4:36... and then 10-0 at the start of the fourth quarter.
LA's little guys were powerless to stop this:
That spurt by the Grizzlies essentially shut the door on LA. The Lakers never got to within single digits of Memphis again, and at the 1:58 mark of the game Darvin Ham surrendered, emptying the bench. The final margin was 116-99, and the Grizz stay alive to fight another day. That day is Friday, when the series will return to LA.
Davis, who's had two no-show nights on offense in this series while remaining a defensive stalwart through all five, stepped tonight as a scorer, leading all Lakers with 31 points on 14-of-23 shooting from the field, plus 19 rebounds, two blocks, a steal and an assist.
James had his lowest scoring night of the series thus far, just 15 points on an execrable 5-of-17 shooting from the floor (including a bizarre 1-of-9 night from deep -- clearly a sign he was too exhausted to drive inside much). He did contribute in other ways, pulling down 10 boards, but his five assists were basically neutralized by a sloppy five turnovers.
Among LA role players, Austin Reaves scored 17 points on an inefficient shooting night but got to the charity line more than anyone not named Anthony Davis, where he went 6-of-6. Although D'Angelo Russell also shot inefficiently (4-of-11 from the floor), he did notch an 11-point, 10-assist double-double. Rui Hachimura made 50% of his shots, but took only eight field goals for nine points. Malik Beasley made a pair of triples and Jarred Vanderbilt played some nice defense while not hurting LA too much during his minutes on offense.
The Lakers' least valuable player tonight had to be reserve point guard Dennis Schröder, who scored zero points for the second time in the series, despite playing for 19 minutes.
Bane (33 points) and Morant (31 points) led the Grizzlies, while Jackson notched an 18-point, 10-rebound double-double.
The Lakers shot miserably from deep (10-of-39) and poorly from the floor overall (40.2%), but the battle was never truly joined. Here's hoping the Lake Show can regroup on Friday.
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