Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves will never forget coach JJ Redick's halftime speech that led to a second-half comeback win against the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday. Luka Doncic's 44-point performance led the Lakers, as he became the first of the franchise to average 45 points over any three-game span since Hall of Fame guard Kobe Bryant. However, the Grizzlies held Los Angeles to 24-second quarter points, outscoring their opponents by 19.
Redick entered the visitors' locker room livid at halftime, as Reaves recalled a very frustrated head coach, per ESPN's Dave McMenamin.
“I remember it very vividly. He started off calm, and then he ended up yelling,” Reaves remembered. “But his words were, ‘I’m not going to come in here yelling at y’all, but I want to.’ And then proceeded to, not yell, but it wasn’t a regular voice. He raised it a little bit.”
“I remember very vividly … His words were, ‘I’m not going to come in here yelling at y’all, but I want to.’ … And then proceeded to, not yell, but it wasn’t a regular voice. He raised it a little bit.” Austin Reaves on JJ Redick’s ticked off halftime address in Memphis. pic.twitter.com/cHcI02AUrm
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) November 1, 2025
The Lakers responded by outscoring the Grizzlies by 12 (34-22) in the third quarter, where Luka Doncic's three erased a 14-point halftime deficit midway through the frame. Doncic finished with 44 points on 14-of-27 attempts, including six threes, 12 rebounds, and six assists.
Austin Reaves added 21 points, four rebounds, and four assists, and Jake LaRavia's 13 points, five rebounds, and three steals led the bench. With their win against the Grizzlies, JJ Redick's Lakers improved to 4-2.
Luka Doncic makes NBA history in Lakers' win vs. Grizzlies
Lakers guard Luka Doncic has three consecutive 40-plus point performances at the start of his regular season, joining Hall of Fame center Wilt Chamberlain (1961, 1962), who did it twice, as the only two NBA players to ever do so. Doncic's historic start to the regular season, his first since he was traded to the Lakers mid-season in 2024-25.
Doncic joined Chamberlain in the NBA history books as the only other player to post three consecutive 40-point games, which was noted by Keerthika Uthayakumar.
Despite missing the last three games due to injury, Doncic wasted no time in getting back on his scoring ways. He dropped 44 points on the Grizzlies, becoming the first Laker since Kobe Bryant to average 45 points through his first three games, per ESPN's Dave McMenamin.
The Lakers will host the Heat on Sunday.
