The Memphis Grizzlies stormed back from an early double-digit deficit against the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night, pulling away down the stretch for an impressive 127-113 victory at Crypto.com Arena. The win moves Memphis to 6-3 with Ja Morant in the lineup this season, a much-needed turnaround from a disastrous start that left Taylor Jenkins' team toward the very bottom of the Western Conference standings.
The Grizzlies are still just 13th in the West, five games back of the Golden State Warriors for the conference final spot in the play-in tournament. But if Memphis' offense thrives like it did against Los Angeles going forward, Morant and company could very well climb the standings as the 82-grind continues, emerging as the play-in team no contender wants to face in the first round of the playoffs.
Morant touched on the Grizzlies' offensive approach after the game, explaining their goal was to crease the paint, draw extra defenders and spray the ball out to open shooters “on time and on target.”
“I just felt like for us it was making sure our passes was on time and on target so the shooter [was] going into a rhythm into they shot, and we was knocking 'em down,” he said. “But we was just trying to drive and was just playing off their defense. If they pulled in too much we just made the early pass to the guy, we trust that guy to knock down the shot, which we did tonight at a high clip.”
Grizzlies catch fire from deep vs. Lakers
Memphis will always be tough to beat when Morant, Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. combine for 76 points. But what really drove the Grizzlies to a 124.5 offensive rating against the reeling Lakers was uncharacteristic accuracy and volume from beyond the arc, the result of Morant and Bane, especially, attacking the Lakers' paint-packed defense off the bounce before finding teammates on the perimeter.
Memphis drained a season-high 23 triples in Los Angeles, shooting a scorching 51.1% on 45 attempts. The team's 33 assists were a new high water mark, too, Bane leading the way with a career-best 13 dimes. Morant dished out seven assists, while Marcus Smart finished with five.
Smart led the Grizzlies' perimeter onslaught, canning eight threes. Bane and Jackson made five apiece, and Morant went 3-of-6 from deep—his fourth straight game with multiple threes after starting an ugly 3-of-25 during his return from suspension. Ziaire Williams was Memphis' only other player to connect from deep, his midseason turnaround continuing. Just imagine if Luke Kennard and Santi Aldama, the team's two best shooters not named Bane, get in on the act the next time the Grizzlies' stars catch fire.
With Morant back in the fold, Memphis' offense will always subsist on paint scoring and transition opportunities more than anything. If Friday's game proves a jumping off point for the Grizzlies improving on league-worst 33.8% long-range shooting, though, their chances of beating the odds to emerge as a real postseason threat will increase exponentially.
“That's big time for us and the basketball we gotta continue to play,” Morant said.
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