LeBron James scored 35 points and recorded his third straight triple-double, leading the Los Angeles Lakers to a 128-123 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday. This victory kept the Lakers perfect at home.
James also contributed 14 assists and 12 rebounds, marking his fourth triple-double of the season. Rookie Dalton Knecht helped the Lakers with a career-high 19 points, making all five of his 3-point attempts.
With the win, the Lakers improved to 6-0 at home, tying the best record in the NBA, which is also held by the Cleveland Cavaliers and Orlando Magic.
Anthony Davis added 21 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, while Rui Hachimura scored 19 points. Austin Reaves chipped in with 18 points, including a key 3-pointer with 1:09 left to put the Lakers ahead 124-117.
For the Grizzlies, Jaren Jackson Jr. led the team with 29 points, and Scotty Pippen Jr., Santi Aldama, and Marcus Smart each scored 15 points. Memphis’ three-game winning streak was broken by this loss.
The Grizzlies were without Ja Morant (hip) for the third straight game, as well as Brandon Clarke (toe) and Desmond Bane (oblique).
Luke Kennard and Zach Edey both scored 12 points, as Memphis had seven players in double figures for the fourth game in a row.
After being down by 15 points in the first half, the Grizzlies managed to lead by as much as nine points in the third quarter, entering the final period with a 96-91 advantage.
The Lakers started the fourth quarter with a 10-2 run, taking a 101-98 lead after a layup by James with 9:37 left. The teams exchanged the lead several times, but Davis hit two 3-pointers just 62 seconds apart, pushing the Lakers ahead 116-110 with 3:49 remaining.
Los Angeles had a 13-point lead in the first quarter and was up 60-48 with less than four minutes left in the second quarter. But Memphis ended the half with a 16-5 run, cutting the Lakers’ lead to just 65-64 at the break.
In the second quarter, Memphis shot 70 percent (14 of 20), while Los Angeles made 60.9 percent (14 of 23) of their shots in the first quarter. LeBron James led all scorers with 20 points in the first half.
For the game, the Lakers outshot the Grizzlies 50.6 percent to 47.2 percent from the field.
