By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
In theory, the Lakers had a big chance to get a 2-0 advantage. On the court, however, Xavier Tillman scored a career-high 22 points and had 13 rebounds, and the Memphis Grizzlies tied their first-round Western Conference series at 1-1 by getting the 103-93 win despite missing their injured leader Ja Morant.
Still, the Grizzlies led by as much as 20 and the Lakers couldn’t capitalize on the advantage of having Morant sidelined.
Jaren Jackson Jr., the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year, scored 18 points for Memphis. Desmond Bane had 17, while Tyus Jones had 10 points and eight assists filling in for Morant. Dillon Brooks added 12 points and Luke Kennard had 13. Spaniard Santi Aldama added seven rebounds and two assists.
LeBron James led the Lakers with 28 points and 12 rebounds. Japanese forward Rui Hachimura had another strong performance with 20 points and Austin Reaves added 12 points. Anthony Davis struggled, going 4 of 14 and finishing with 13 points and eight rebounds. German guard Dennis Schroder finished the night with three assists and one rebound.
The Lakers head home for Game 3 on Saturday after never leading by more than three, at the start of the game.
Hachimura scored 11 in the third and helped the Lakers trim a Memphis lead that reached 66-46 to 73-67. However, the Grizzlies finished the quarter on a 10-4 run to push the lead to 83-71 going into the fourth and the Lakers never got closer than six points after that.