The Los Angeles Lakers pulled off a comeback win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday, thanks to hot shooting from Dalton Knecht, LeBron James' third straight triple-double, and timely buckets from Anthony Davis. Despite riding the bench for a good chunk of the game due to foul trouble, the big man hit two big threes in the fourth period to help put the game away. After his second three that put the Lakers up 116-110, Anthony Davis seemed to talk some trash to Tee Morant–Ja Morant's dad–sitting courtside.
You can see the replay of the entire sequence via this clip shared by The Hoop Central on X, formerly Twitter.
Lakers overcome own sloppy effort
After the Grizzlies handily beat the Lakers during their 1-4 road trip, Ja Morant said he didn't like the Lakers, which Anthony Davis could have used as fuel for their rematch and which he unleashed on Tee Morant.
It's clear that there's no love lost between the two teams. The Grizzlies had talked all sorts of trash–mostly care of Dillon Brooks taking shots at LeBron James–against the Lakers in their first round playoff series in an attempt to break James' focus.
However, the Lakers dispatched the young upstart Grizz in six games, finishing the job with a 40-point blowout in Game 6, showing the young team the dangers of running one's mouth too much and too early.
During this game, the Purple and Gold started out strong, building a ten-point lead in the first quarter. However, sloppy defense and silly turnovers let the Grizzlies stay in the game and even take the lead in the third.
Yet, per JJ Redick, Dalton Knecht drove the Lakers' comeback, making a series of three-pointers to cut the Grizzlies lead from nine to two. Then, Knecht threw a lob to newly activated center Christian Koloko that tied the game and set the stage for Bron and AD to take over.
Injury woes
Meanwhile, the Lakers also powered through an ankle injury to Jaxson Hayes, who sustained the injury in practice the day before the game. Losing AD's only backup meant the team had to activate Koloko and Armel Traore.
In his limited minutes Koloko had a solid showing, throwing down two lobs from Knecht and Bron and doing a decent job being an interior presence. However, it remains unclear whether the Lakers' thin center rotation can hold it together until Hayes comes back.
They surely don't want their star to suffer another injury besides the foot and eye issues afflicting Anthony Davis. They may need to make a deal for another big man, such as Jonas Valanciunas, who can spell AD without being a negative on the floor.
Still, this win should feel good as the Lakers got one back against an emerging rival. LA will play the San Antonio Spurs in their first NBA Cup game on Friday, coming off Victor Wembanyama's historic 50-point outing.
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