Grizzlies, minus Ja Morant, down Lakers to level series

Xavier Tillman recorded a career-high 22 points and grabbed 13 rebounds and the Memphis Grizzlies overcame the absence of injured Ja Morant to produce a 103-93 victory over the visiting Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday, April 19 (Thursday, April 20, Manila time).

The result evened the best-of-seven, first-round Western Conference playoff series at one win apiece.

Jaren Jackson Jr. had 18 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 blocked shots and Desmond Bane added 17 points for the second-seeded Grizzlies. 

Luke Kennard scored 13 points, Dillon Brooks had 12, and Tyus Jones registered 10 points, 8 assists, and 6 rebounds.

LeBron James had 28 points and 12 rebounds, while Rui Hachimura – who led the Lakers with 29 in their Game 1 win – added 20 points off the bench for the seventh seed. 

Anthony Davis had 13 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 blocked shots and Austin Reaves scored 12 points for Los Angeles.

Game 3 will be played Saturday night in Los Angeles.

Morant aggravated a right hand injury in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s Game 1. He was ruled out of Game 2 less than an hour before tip-off. Jones started in his place.

Memphis shot 42.7% from the field, including 11-of-36 (30.6%) from three-point range. 

Tillman made 10-of-13 shots, and five of his rebounds came on the offensive end.

The Lakers made 41.2% of their shots and were 7-of-26 (26.9%) from behind the arc. Davis shot just 4-for-14 and D’Angelo Russell (five points) was 2-for-11.

Tillman scored all of the Memphis points during a 7-2 push to open the third quarter as the Grizzlies elevated their lead to a game-best 20 at 66-46.

The Lakers answered with a 17-3 surge with Hachimura scoring the last five to bring Los Angeles within 69-63 with 4:04 remaining in the third.

Memphis finished the stanza strong and took an 83-71 lead into the fourth quarter.

A dunk by Davis and a layup by James allowed the Lakers to move within 92-86 with 3:48 left in the contest. 

However, Memphis scored seven of the game’s next nine points, with Brooks capping the stretch with a trey to make it 99-88 with 1:23 remaining.

Davis cut Los Angeles’ deficit to 101-93 on a three-pointer with 59.4 seconds left. 

But Jones made two free throws with 30.8 seconds remaining to make it a 10-point game, and the Lakers called timeout and cleared the bench.

The Grizzlies led 30-19 after one quarter and increased their cushion to 59-44 at the break. 

Bane had 13 points in the half for Memphis, and James scored 12 for the Lakers. Davis had just 6 points on 1-of-9 shooting in the half. – Rappler.com