LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers knocked the Memphis Grizzlies out of the NBA Playoffs on Friday night with a masterful 125-85 performance, capping off a 4-2 series win.

For James and the Grizzlies, it was the culmination of a heated back-and-forth series that included Grizzlies forward Dillon Brooks' calling James “old,” and the Lakers rallying around their superstar to win three of the last four games.

The taunts of Brooks seemed to light a fire under James, who posted a savage message roasting the Grizzlies after the victory.

Instead of thanking his 27-year-old rival after the series, James walked off the court immediately afterward, choosing to exit the arena with 14.1 seconds left in the game, without shaking the Grizzlies players' and coaches' hands.

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Shaking hands is typically an unspoken gesture of goodwill toward the opposing team, although retired NBA superstar Larry Bird admitted he often avoided it after games against rivals. The 1991 ‘Bad Boy' Detroit Pistons infamously refused to shake hands after losing to Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and the Chicago Bulls following their Eastern Conference Finals series loss a season after winning back-to-back championships.

The series victory was the Lakers' first since the 2021 Western Conference semi-finals. The Lakers now await the winner of the Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors, who are tied at three games apiece in their first round series.

While LeBron James chose not to meet with the Grizzlies after the game, he did offer an embrace for Lakers superfan Jack Nicholson before the game, Nicholson's first appearance at the Crypto.com Arena in 556 days.