It seemed that LeBron James and his teammates would have an easy match against the Memphis Grizzlies, but the Los Angeles Lakers had to work quite hard to become the winner.
Memphis Grizzlies is the opponent that the Los Angeles Lakers unexpectedly defeated in the NBA Playoffs last year. At that time, LeBron James and his teammates entered the postseason from the Play-in spot but still defeated the team led by Ja Morant (number 2 seed in the West last year).
Today (April 13), the two teams meet again in an extremely important match. The results of the competition at FedEx Forum have a great influence on the Los Angeles Lakers, the team is trying to escape the 9th and 10th positions in the Western rankings.
The Los Angeles Lakers have almost the strongest squad in recent weeks. In contrast, the Memphis Grizzlies have 13 players on the injury list, most of whom have been “frozen” by the coaching staff because the club no longer has a fighting goal.
But despite the difference in strength and the complete opposite of the team’s direction, the Los Angeles Lakers almost “fell” against a Memphis Grizzlies that is only ranked 3rd from the bottom on the Western rankings.
Only thanks to the explosive match of Anthony Davis and the brilliant performance of LeBron James did the purple and yellow shirt team escape with a 123-120 victory.
Los Angeles Lakers led by only 3 points with 15 seconds left in the game, Memphis Grizzlies had the ball to attack. The youngest player in the NBA this season, GG Jackson, decided to play the hero himself with a very difficult finishing situation.
The ball didn’t even touch the basketball rim, causing the two teams to get into a dispute. Somehow, the ball ended up in the hands of the oldest player in the NBA – LeBron James. Heading straight to the other side of the court, the Lakers superstar launched a double-clutch reverse dunk to seal the match’s outcome.
Including this highlight dunk, LeBron James scored 6 points in just over 55 seconds at the end of the game. “The King” ended this unexpectedly intense match with 37 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists with 13-20 FG in 41 minutes of play.
“Every match is extremely important, so we are determined to win at all costs,” LeBron James said about playing more than 40 minutes in this match.
“Seed position is quite important for us. No matter which team the team is confident about facing, victory will help us have a better spirit and be more ready for the coming days.”
Anthony Davis is right behind James with 36 points, 14 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 blocks with 43 minutes of play. Bigman born in 1993 delivered a quality performance after a period of absence.
Although it was quite difficult, the Los Angeles Lakers won the 7th in the last 10 matches, improving the total record to 46 wins – 35 losses.
More importantly, this result helps the Lakers have the right to self-determine the 8th place on the rankings because their two direct competitors, Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings, both lost on the same day.