Unlike Ja Morant (according to Shannon Sharpe), Russell Westbrook wanted the smoke.
The Los Angeles Lakers (21-25) escaped with a much-needed close win against a quality opponent on Friday night at Crypto.com Arena, as they pulled off a 122-121 upset over the Memphis Grizzlies (31-14), who had won 11 straight games.
Throughout the cold night for both clubs, the Lakers relied on scrappy defense, keeping the Grizzlies to 42.2% shooting. After being pummeled on the offensive glass for three quarters, the Lakers held their own down the stretch. In the two biggest moments of the game, the Lakers swung the outcome with back-to-back big-time stops by a point guard.
With about 12 seconds to go, Dennis Schroder pickpocketed Desmond Bane and finished the lay-in plus the foul to give the Lakers a one-point lead. (Schroder had 19 points, 9 rebounds, and 9 assists.)
Crypto going absolutely bonkers after Dennis Schroder’s steal and layup to take the lead pic.twitter.com/jtLjVLEW8U
— Michael Corvo (@michaelcorvoNBA) January 21, 2023
During the ensuing timeout, Westbrook told Darvin Ham that he was going to check Morant with the game on the line. Los Angeles' combination of perimeter pests (Schroder, Westbrook, Patrick Beverley) had collectively held the Grizzlies superstar to 9-0f-28 shooting up to that point.
“Russ' defense on Ja Morant at the end — it was great,” said Ham. “And he stepped up in the huddle and said ‘I got him. Let me take him.' That's the type of assertiveness that we need to go where we want to go.”
Sure enough, Westbrook — who had a team-high 29 points on 10-of-18 shooting, essential production on a relatively off night for LeBron James (21 points) — got the job done. Ja missed a tough floater in the lane, and Brandon Clarke failed to convert both free throws after grabbing the board. Lakers win (to Shannon's amusement).
Russ had a simple explanation for matching up with Ja:
“I just know I'm a very good defender. And I believe in my abilities to be able to stop anybody, no matter what position. That's it.”
Russ on why he wanted Ja on the final possession: “I just know I’m a very good defender.” https://t.co/Q9kY4oIxGH pic.twitter.com/UD4j90sKWc
— Michael Corvo (@michaelcorvoNBA) January 21, 2023
Throughout the offseason, Ham insisted that Westbrook — along with everybody else (LeBron excluded) — would have to truly commit to the defensive end in order to play a significant role, regardless of salary or stature. Westbrook repeatedly assured Ham that he understood. Schroder and Beverley, who always bring it, set a defensive standard at the point guard spot. Their sheer presence forced Westbrook to improve his focus on D.
It's hard to overstate how desperately the Lakers needed a nail-biter to go their way. They had dropped three of their past four games entering Friday, with all three losses coming against playoff teams by a grand total of 10 points (a slew of officiating errors may have cost them Ws). Seven of their past nine games have been within one possession in the final minute. Ill-advised mistakes and questionable late-game decision-making have often defined their failures. LeBron acknowledged they have “zero” margin for error.
On Friday, the Lakers maintained their composure and put faith in their defense, while outscoring Memphis 41-32 in the final frame. It was arguably their most important quarter of the season.
“You don’t know you can do it unless you can do it,” Ham said about the Lakers squeezing out a close game against an elite team. “… It goes a long way for our spirit, our mentality, and our togetherness.”
Whether it looks pretty or not (it generally did not on Friday), being able to clamp down and get stops in crunchtime separates good teams from mediocre ones.
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