LeBron James and the Lakers stormed out of the franchise’s first sold-out stadium playoff matchup in a decade and began with one of the best first quarters in team history. Los Angeles moved to 35-9, to loud cheers from fans hungry for postseason success.
Even Ja Morant couldn’t hold the Memphis Grizziles up to stop the Lakers from taking Game 3 of the series.
Anthony Davis had 31 points and 17 rebounds, James finished with 25 points and Dillon Brooks was ejected for hitting him in the crotch, and Los Angeles outlasted Morant with a 24-point fourth quarter to prevail 111-101 on Saturday to move to 2-1. up in their first-round playoff series.
Rui Hachimura scored 16 points on another good night off the bench for the seventh-placed Lakers who have shined in their long-awaited return to a true playoff environment for a franchise with 17 titles. Los Angeles matched an NBA record by opening up a 26-point lead in the second quarter, and Memphis couldn’t get closer than 13 points until the final two minutes.
“We had a game plan and we executed it in those first 12 minutes,” James said.
Morant scored 45 points in his return from a game sidelined with sore hand and scored 22 points in a dazzling fourth quarter. He also added 13 assists and nine rebounds.
Game 4 takes place Monday night in Los Angeles.
