LeBron James scored 30 points, leading the visiting Los Angeles Lakers to a 109-108 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday.
Anthony Davis added 22 points, five blocks and three steals for the Lakers, who captured their seventh straight victory. Rajon Rondo had 14 points and six assists.
Ja Morant led Memphis with 26 points, five steals and six assists, while Jae Crowder scored 21 points. Jaren Jackson Jr. finished with 20 points and seven boards. The Grizzlies dropped their third in a row.
Davis' 3-pointer with two minutes left tied the score at 105. James' driving layup gave the Lakers a two-point lead. Davis' follow of a James' miss increased the lead to 109-105 with 53.5 seconds remaining. That turned out to be the difference.
A free throw by Dillon Brooks and a layup by Morant pulled Memphis within one with 28 seconds left. James missed a 3-pointer with 6.6 seconds left, and after a scramble for the ball, the Grizzlies gained possession. However, the Grizzlies turned the ball over.
The Lakers rallied from an eight-point halftime deficit for an 85-84 advantage heading into the fourth quarter. They outscored the Grizzlies 30-21 in the third behind 10 points apiece by James and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who went scoreless in the first half.
Memphis started strong, hitting its first eight 3-pointers and leading by as much as 15 in the first half. An 11-0 Lakers' run cut the margin to 53-50 after a bucket by James with 3:49 left in the second quarter. However, a 10-1 surge by the Grizzlies pushed the advantage to 63-51 after an alley-oop dunk by Brandon Clarke on an assist from Morant with a little over a minute left in the quarter.
Memphis led 63-55 at the break. The Grizzlies hit 10 of 14 3-pointers to 4 of 15 for the Lakers in the first half. Overall, Memphis made 14 of 30 beyond the arc compared to 13 of 39 for Los Angeles.
Lakers' reserve guard Alex Caruso sat out the game with a strained calf.
Memphis played without reserve guard Grayson Allen, who has been sidelined since Nov. 2 with an ankle injury.
--Field Level Media
L.A. Lakers | Memphis | |
LeBron James 30 | Scoring | Ja Morant 26 |
Rajon Rondo 6 | Assists | Tyus Jones 6 |
Dwight Howard 9 | Rebounds | Brandon Clarke 11 |
Anthony Davis 5 | Free Throws Made | Ja Morant 5 |
Anthony Davis 3 | Steals | Ja Morant 5 |
Anthony Davis 5 | Blocks | Kyle Anderson 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
L.A. Lakers | 109 | 45.2 | 13-39 | 20-29 | 19 | 40 | 7 | 12 | 16 |
Memphis | 108 | 48.3 | 14-30 | 8-13 | 28 | 47 | 3 | 12 | 22 |