The Memphis Grizzlies produced an impressive comeback to defeat the Los Angels Lakers 104-99 at home on Wednesday.
The Lakers came into this game on the back of their first victory in six games. They defeated the Houston Rockets in their last game and were seeking back to back wins here. However, Memphis guard Ja Morant had other ideas. He scored 16 of his 41 points from the third quarter through the final buzzer.
“When you shoot the ball as well as he did tonight from the perimeter, with his speed and his athleticism, it’s gonna be hard to contain a guy like that,’’ said LeBron James, who put up 37 points, including eight 3-pointers to equal a career-high. This marked the second time Morant scored 40 points against the Lakers this season.
He shot 13 of 27 from the field on Wednesday, including 6 of 7 from 3-point range. The 22-year-old also added 10 rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks. As strong as his final flourish was, he was equally impressive earlier in the game when he scored 16 points in a row for Memphis.
This comeback win for the Grizzlies ended all hopes of what could have been a 2-0 road trip for the Lakers. Instead, they drop to 17-19 and are looking at the No. 8 spot in the Western Conference standings. On the other hand, Memphis (22-14) have played above expectations and are holding tight to the No. 4 seed.
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Lakers struggles
The Lakers did themselves no favors with their poor shot selection here. They shot 7 of 20 in the final quarter in Memphis, including a 2 of 10 from three-point range. Up next for the Lakers is a home game against the Trailblazers and they will hope to get back to winning ways.
