Lakers There were 6.7 seconds for the Memphis Grizzlies. The Memphis Grizzlies had a chance to tie the best-of-seven series with a two-point lead against the Los Angeles Lakers late in the fourth quarter, but it was lost when LeBron James got downhill and finished a game-tying layup over the outstretched arms of NBA Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr. The game then went into overtime.
Memphis Grizzlies lose to Los Angeles Lakers
James had not yet finished. He drove to the left against Dillon Brooks, drew a foul, and made a clutch layup with 29.1 seconds remaining to give the Laker a five-point lead. He still had one more crushing basket in him. On Monday night at Crypto.com Arena, the Lakers defeated Memphis 117-111 after being unable to close the gap.
With 36 points, Desmond Bane led the Grizzlies. For the Lakers, James ended with 22 points and 20 rebounds.
The early findings on Monday night were giving the Grizzlies the incorrect flashbacks. In the first half, the Lakers led by as many as 15 points as the Grizzlies failed to establish an offensive rhythm and missed open threes. It seems like the problems from Game 3 were reappearing.
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Memphis now shown a new kind of resilience with its capacity to quickly close down huge deficits. In the dying seconds of the fourth quarter, the Lakers and Grizzlies swapped blows, but James delivered the decisive punch.
Early offensive rhythm deficit
Through the majority of the first two quarters, the Lakers gave off the impression that they had identified the Memphis players’ tendencies. Dillon Brooks was sagged off by the Lakers, who challenged him to attempt 3-pointers. Memphis struggled to generate spacing due to a lack of players and execution before a dramatic 14-1 surge to end the first half. Memphis made 5-of-23 3-pointers and had a 34.5% overall shooting percentage in the first half.
To flip the tide, Memphis shot 54% in the third quarter. Morant’s left-handed slam with the final seconds of the third quarter gave Memphis a two-point lead.
Desmond Bane becomes heated
When Memphis needed one of its top scorers to step up, Bane was the one who did it. He began to shoot well towards the conclusion of the first half and continued it into the third. Bane made just one of his first seven shots in the contest before concentrating on his midrange jumper and attacking the basket. After a sluggish start, he made seven out of his next ten attempts. Bane scored 22 points in Game 1 of the series, but he only shot 6-for-18 at the time. In the fourth quarter, as the Lakers were building momentum, Bane hit a number of critical shots.
Bringing Anthony Davis to a stop
Through the first three games of the series, Davis was the series’ best player, but the Grizzlies made it a priority to contain the Lakers’ top player. When Davis had paint touches, Memphis crowded him, and the defence did a nice job of keeping him from getting deep in the paint, which resulted in contested midrange shots. Davis scored two points in the first half while being held without a successful field goal. The Lakers star had a difficult second half. At the end of regulation, he had seven points, and he finished with twelve.