Bright side double, Los Angeles Lakers "robbed" Game 1 from Memphis Grizzlies
In a day with LeBron James playing underwhelming and Anthony Davis making fans cry with a shoulder injury, the Los Angeles Lakers (7) still had a victory as the "bottom door" team against the Western second-place team Memphis Grizzlies (2 ).
From the score of 113-112, the 15-0 run with great success of Rui Hachimura and Austin Reaves ended the overwhelming 4th half of the Lakers away team, bringing the yellow and purple jersey collective to the overall victory of 128-112 at Game 1. Series 1 Playoffs round 1 between the two teams.
It is undeniable that Ja Morant left the field in the second half of the fourth half because of an injury that greatly affected Memphis's attack, but it is also impossible to ignore the impressive 3-pointer performance of the Los Angeles team in the 3rd and 4th quarters.
Depa with only 5-18 3PT (only 28%) in the first half, the Lakers improved this number to 11-19 3PT (57%), the efficiency almost doubled in the second half.
This result gave the Los Angeles Lakers a temporary lead over the Memphis Grizzlies with a score of 1-0, stealing an away victory at the FedEx Forum.
This doesn't happen often because the Grizzlies are the team with the best home record in the entire NBA in the Regular Season. They won 35 games, lost only 6 times at FedEx Forum this season and this will be their 7th defeat.
As a player with great resilience and often owns beautiful highlights, Ja Morant is not afraid to jump high to create a big boost in morale for his teammates as well as entertain the fans.
Unfortunately, in such an effort, he was unfortunately injured. The ball happened when the fourth half was nearly 6 minutes, Morant fouled Anthony Davis and landed with his hand.
He immediately ran to the dressing room in pain, then returned to the bench but with his wrists bandaged, Morant was unable to play for the rest of the game.
Memphis Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins said it is not clear whether Ja Morant will play in Game 2.
Knowing that the attack of the Memphis Grizzlies would be stagnant without Ja Morant, but the big credit for this victory belongs to the Los Angeles Lakers' secondary duo, led by the duo Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura.
Japanese Bigman led the Lakers team with 29 points and great performance, reaching 11-14 FG and 5-6 3PT. This is Hachimura's most scoring game since arriving at the Lakers in January.
Besides Rui, Austin Reaves shone in the 4th round with 14 points in the last 12 minutes alone (the whole match scored 23 points, 8-13 FG and 3-5 3PT). He contributed to the 15-0 streak that sealed the Lakers' victory.
On the day LeBron James and Anthony Davis "step back" with 21 and 22 points, respectively, the brilliance of the duo Rui Hachimura and Austin Reaves is a good sign for Los Angeles Lakers fans.
It shows that the team sometimes does not have to completely depend on LeBron and AD to win, even more impressive when this is a Playoffs match on the opponent's field.
On the Memphis Grizzlies side, Jaren Jackson Jr led with 31 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks, a 23-year-old bigman's all-round defensive performance. Desmond Bane was behind with 22 points, and Ja Morant before leaving the field had 18 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists in more than 30 minutes of play.
Game 2 of the NBA Playoffs Round 1 series between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Memphis Grizzlies will take place at 6:30 a.m. on Thursday, April 20 at FedEx Forum, the Grizzlies' home ground.
