LeBron James promised to be better in Friday’s Game 6, of the Lakers first-round NBA playoff series with the Grizzlies. His teammates kept the pressure on from the first tip. They destroyed the No. The Grizzlies were beaten 125-85 by the No. 2 seeded team to win series 4-2
James needed 17 shots in Game 5 to get five points. He made seven out of eight shots on Friday. An emphatic two-handed reverse dunk capped his dominant performance in the first half.
“It was definitely a Game 7 mentality for us,” James said. “We understood that we had an opportunity to play in front of our fans, and we wanted to try to end it tonight.”
The game practically felt over by halftime with the Lakers leading by 17 points at halftime. James already had 16 total points to this point, one more than he finished within all of Game 5. He had 22 points, six assists, and five rebounds.
“He’s playing with a sense of urgency,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said of James. “He knows there’s only so many more of these [postseason runs] he’s going to be able to participate in. So he’s definitely been in the moment.”
NBA NEWS & PLAYOFFS: LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers, Ja Morant & Memphis Grizzlies Updates
The Lakers led by up to 40 points in the second half of the Game 6 at Crypto.com Arena. The Lakers’ first home playoff win since 2012 when they beat the Denver Nuggets at Game 7 of the first round was a long-awaited event.
D’Angelo Russell was also in on James’ redemption. He was shooting 5-8 just in the first quarter after going 4-11 on Wednesday in Memphis. Russell scored a playoff career-high 31 points on 12-17 shots. He was able to break out of his playoff slump, as he had never shot better than 50% in a game in the postseason.
“To finally make some is definitely a good feeling, but the win was better, to be honest,” Russell said.
The Lakers had a perfect day on Friday. Their offense shot a field goal percentage of 53.8 percent. Memphis’ defense was able to hold them to just 30.2 percent.
“I told them after the game, we set a standard for ourselves defensively on how we have to play and what we have to do on the defensive side of the ball,” Ham said.
NBA NEWS & PLAYOFFS: LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers, Ja Morant & Memphis Grizzlies Updates
Austin Reaves scored 11 points with 8 assists and six rebounds. Jarred Vanderbilt’s defensive impact made it challenging for Ja Morant, forcing him to scores nine points while shooting 3-16 from the floor. He also shot 3-8 from 3-point range. Rui Hachimura, who was again effective as a bench player, scored six points with 3-5 shooting.
Anthony Davis, who had 16 points on 6-9 shooting with 14 rebounds and 5 blocks, raised his hands and asked the fans for more. His defensive impact was on full display throughout the series, averaging 4.3 blocks per game, but it went well beyond the stat sheet, too.
“I can’t control the ball going in the basket every time, but on the defensive end, I can control a lot of things,” Davis said. “And that kind of just fuels the offense. No matter what I’m doing, I want to be able to leave a mark on the game defensively now.”
The Lakers led 103-71 with nine minutes left in the fourth. Both teams then pulled their starters. The Lakers rarely had blowout wins like the one on Friday, especially in a match as important as this.
The Lakers are the first seventh-seed to win an opening-round upset since San Antonio Spurs in 2010. They were also only the sixth team ever to do so. The Lakers became the first No. 7 seed since 2010 to win an opening-round upset. They are only the sixth team to achieve this feat. The winner of Sunday’s Game 7 involving the Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors will determine their opponent for the second round.
“We stay in the same time zone,” James said. “We stay in the same state. It’s an hour flight to each place, less if it’s Sac, a little bit more if it’s to the Bay. So that definitely helps.”
NBA NEWS & PLAYOFFS: LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers, Ja Morant & Memphis Grizzlies Updates
The Lakers started the season with a 2-10 record. They have personified the phrase, “It’s not how you start, but how you finish.” They have won 14 out of their previous 18 games, including the regular season and a play-in tournament win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
James and Davis are now 22-10 when both play in the playoffs. It’s become apparent the problems they pose for any opponent when both are healthy and on the floor together. It’s also clear that “poking the bear” is not a wise idea against a James-led team
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