Memphis fought hard and was in the game until the final buzzer.
With a final score of 123-120, the Los Angeles Lakers barely scraped by with a win against the Memphis Grizzlies. While there are no moral victories in the NBA, this was the closest thing to an enjoyable loss as possible.
The battered and bruised Grizzlies, who were missing 13 played to injuries, fought hard and kept the outcome in question until their final possession, forcing the team that eliminated them in last year’s playoffs to exert considerable effort to squeak by with a narrow win.
It might be projection, but it felt satisfyingly petty to watch these young guys be such a thorn in the Lakers’ side in a game that was essentially meaningless to Memphis. To fully appreciate the Grizzlies’ performance in this game, let’s set the scene:
It’s game 81 in an 82-game season, with one team fighting to secure their best possible position in the play-in tournament, playing against a team so hobbled by injuries they have been adding a steady stream of relatively unknown players on 10-day contracts just to have the league minimum eight players available.
Los Angeles had already won by double-digits in two of three games in the season series, and they were facing a Grizzlies team that currently holds the second-worst home record in the league.
The Lakers are fighting to secure the most favorable play-in tournament seeding, along with the Sacramento Kings and the Golden State Warriors, and based on their previous meetings, the Lakers probably expected to cakewalk their way to a win.
This game had big “day before the start of a long weekend and your crappy boss is unexpectedly making you do real work” energy. You know the feeling you get when you were expecting to coast through an easy day at the office and one of your least favorite colleagues dumps a pile of time-sensitive tasks on your desk and suddenly you must do actual work? That is how I imagine LeBron James and Anthony Davis felt about this matchup against the Grizzlies.
LeBron James had 37 points. There’s not much you can do against that. Similar situation with Anthony Davis. If he’s going for 36 points, your team is probably in trouble.
James and Davis combined for 28 of the Lakers’ 34 free-throw attempts, seven more than the Grizzlies’ total 21 free-throw attempts. Those numbers speak for themselves, and the expectation should be officiating the same way on both sides, especially in a game as close as this one.
The last Grizzlies’ possession of the game featured a lot of contact against GG Jackson, contact that absolutely would have been called a foul on the other end of the floor. Head coach Taylor Jenkins had already used a challenge and failed so there wasn’t anything to be done about it, but he certainly vocalized his displeasure.
Despite the loss, there were some positive things to take away from last night’s game from the Grizzlies’ perspective. GG Jackson has been playing out of his mind, and these starting minutes have given him valuable development experience and shown how deep his potential can be.
COOK HIM pic.twitter.com/bxzNRVRxBH
— Memphis Grizzlies (@memgrizz) April 13, 2024
Jackson finished the night with a team-high 31 points and three steals while shooting 12 of 23 overall and seven of 13 from three-point range, his third game this season with 30+ points.
Scotty Pippen Jr. had a career-high scoring night, putting up 28 points, plus five rebounds, six assists, and four steals on 12 of 22 overall shooting and three of seven from beyond the arc.
Plus, the bonus of the broadcast cutting to Scottie Pippen Sr. celebrating after Pippen Jr. made a fast break that ended with a nasty bucket against the defense of Austin Reaves.
Scottie Pippen Sr. being the proudest papa starts at the 20 second mark.
Jake LaRavia has continued to make big offensive contributions since his return, adding 28 points, three rebounds, and a career-high six assists, on seven of 13 overall, three of six from three-point range, and a perfect 11 of 11 from the free throw line.
— Memphis Grizzlies (@memgrizz) April 13, 2024
Scotty Pippen Jr. giving Rui Hachimura a bad time. IYKYK
Jordan Goodwin recorded a career-high 23 points, 17 rebounds, and four steals the hard way, shooting just seven of 22 overall and four of nine from beyond the arc.
It was the fifth time this season Goodwin grabbed double-digit rebounds, and he’s had 81 rebounds in his past seven games.
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