The Los Angeles Lakers failed to extend their winning streak to five games as they lost against the Memphis Grizzlies 119-127. By winning this game, Memphis also won regular season series against LA 3-1. It was the 9th straight win for the Grizzlies.
LeBron James was the only starter for the Lakers in this game that finished with double-digit scoring – he had 35 points in 33 minutes. Meanwhile, Russell Westbrook had a season-low 6 points along with 7 rebounds and 6 assists. It was the second game in a row in which he scored less than 10 points.
The help for LeBron James came from the bench with three players, namely Wayne Ellington (16), Austin Reaves (16) and Talen Horton-Tucker (13), scoring in double-digits.
After the game, Lakers head coach Frank Vogel addressed the loss. “I want to credit Memphis first,” he said. “They played great, they’ve been playing great, one of the hottest teams in the league. Not having [Steven] Adams out there, obviously he’s a big part of what they do but they get a little faster, a little more spread out and a little more difficult to guard in some ways. So we had trouble getting back in transition.
“I thought this was one of those games where we let a lot of misses at the basket affect our defensive focus. When we weren’t scoring we lost focus of what we’re supposed to be doing on the defensive side. That can’t happen. Obviously that was a big reason they built a big lead.”
Vogel also pointed at the fact that a whole bunch of his players happened to struggle at the same time. “A lot of guys having a tough night all at once,” he added. “And credit Memphis’ defense. They’re very good defensive team, they force a lot of turnovers and they break rhythm. We were just a little out of sync but like you said a number of guys having tough nights all at the same time.”
