LeBron James, Lakers rally past Grizzlies to remain unbeaten at home
LOS ANGELES — If there were doubts about LeBron James' ability to consistently string together strong performances in Year 22, he's more or less erased them this week.
James recorded his third consecutive triple-double on Wednesday night, leading the Lakers to a 128-123 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies as they remained unbeaten at home this season.
The Lakers (7-4) improved to 6-0 at Crypto.com Arena, their most consecutive home wins to start a season since 2010-11.
With Anthony Davis in foul trouble, James (35 points, 14 assists and 12 rebounds) once again led the Lakers in the game's most precarious moments, helping keep them afloat for most of the fourth quarter.
But when James and Davis were both on the court late, the Lakers closed out the Grizzlies. James and Davis scored or assisted on 19 of the Lakers' final 23 points to secure the win.
Davis finished with 21 points, 14 rebounds, three assists and three blocked shots in 32 minutes. Rui Hachimura and Dalton Knecht each scored 19 points, while Austin Reaves finished with 18 points and six assists.
The Lakers jumped out to a 38-26 lead after the end of the first quarter behind James' hot start, which included a buzzer-beating 3-pointer before the opening period ended.
But the Lakers' defense took a step back from there, in part because of their ball security.
The Lakers had seven turnovers in the second quarter, helping Memphis outscore them 38-27 in the period to trim its deficit to 65-64.
Jaren Jackson Jr. (29 points, seven rebounds) hit a 3-point shot early in the third to give Memphis its first lead since early in the first, 67-65.
Knecht kept the Lakers in the game by scoring eight points in the final three minutes of the third quarter, including a pair of 3-pointers.
James opened the fourth by assisting Knecht on a 3-pointer for his 10th assist and the rookie's final points of the night, cutting the Grizzlies' lead to 96-94. Knecht was 5 for 5 from behind the arc as the Lakers hit a season-high 20 3-point shots.
The teams battled for most of the fourth, with neither leading by more than five in the quarter's first eight minutes, before the two-man game between James and Davis, as well late shot-making from Hachimura and Reaves, put them over the top.
Memphis got 48 points from its bench, led by Marcus Smart (14 points, six assists) who made his return after missing the last two weeks because of a sprained ankle.
The Lakers will play back-to-back road games against the San Antonio Spurs (Friday) and the New Orleans Pelicans (Saturday) to close out the week. The matchup against the Spurs is the Lakers' first NBA Cup game.
More to come on this story.
