Lakers, Luka Dončić push past Grizzlies behind second-half surge

4 days ago 2

LOS ANGELES — The surge in the New Year continues for the Lakers.

The Los Angeles Lakers take down the Memphis Grizzlies for the second night in three days at Crypto.com Arena, winning 120-114 on Sunday behind a second-half surge from Luka Dončić and LeBron James.

The first half was all Memphis despite being down Ja Morant and multiple contributors behind a high-effort start. But the Lakers' game plan was to stay the same at halftime, down 65-54, despite a lackluster start.

JJ Redick asked the team if they needed to make any adjustments at halftime, with them responding "absolutely not" to the second-year head coach as they slowly picked up on the Grizzlies' plays.

"They were running basically a loop into a side pick and roll or a step up into a swing angle," Redick said. "It was just the same stuff over and over again. Eventually, we just picked up on the cadence and the pattern of it."

L.A. went on to outscore Memphis 29-22 in the third and then 37-27 in the fourth, finally putting the nail in the coffin and closing out behind back-to-back 3s from Dončić to give them a nine-point lead with two minutes left.

The Lakers outscored the Grizzlies 66-49 overall in the second half.

Dončić poured in 17 of his 34 points (nine rebounds and eight assists) on the night in the second half, while James commanded the offense with 10 assists on the night and slashed his way to the paint with 26 points—18 of those coming in the second half.

The Lakers found themselves down by 16 points (the most on the night) late in the second quarter following a bad shooting display, starting 2-for-12 from 3, and constant defensive lapses and rebounding breakdowns.

The Lakers finished shooting 47% (38-for-80) from the floor and 26.8% from 3 (11-for-41), while

Jake LaRavia was a major contributor for the second straight game against his former team, notching 26 points (nine-for-16), five rebounds and four assists with a game-high +15 plus/minus.

“I think I'm just trusting the work that I've been putting in recently." LaRavia said on. "Obviously, [my] shot was struggling early on and Coach was telling me [and] players telling me just keep shooting the ball. They trust me, I trust myself so it's really just about going into the game and doing it.”

LaRavia scored over 20 points for the second straight game and fourth time this season, a feat he hadn't accomplished before in his career, as his role has increased, filling in for Rui Hachimura in the starting unit.

The Lakers improve their record to 22-11 and 10-6 at home this season, winning three of their last four games.

L.A. will head on the road for its next two games, going to New Orleans and San Antonio for back-to-back contests on Tuesday and Wednesday.

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