The seventh-seeded team Los Angeles Lakers came out strong in their first home playoff game with a full house in ten years.
LeBron James finished with 25 points after Dillon Brooks was sent off for elbowing him in the groyne with Anthony Davis added 31 points and 17 rebounds as the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 111-101 on Saturday night to take a 2-1 series lead.
Ja Morant scored 45 points in his first game back after missing one due to a sore right hand, including 22 straight points in the incredible fourth quarter as Memphis tried to come back from an early 29-point deficit. The second-seeded Grizzlies couldn’t fully recover after scoring a season-low nine points in the first quarter, despite Morant’s 13 assists and nine rebounds. Morant started out slowly before rounding into his usual unguardable form in the fourth quarter, despite wearing a black brace and padding on his hand and occasionally appearing tentative with it.
The seventh-seeded team Los Angeles Lakers came out strong in their first home playoff game with a full house in ten years. Rui Hachimura scored 16 points in another strong performance off the bench. Los Angeles entered the second quarter with a lead of 26 points, tying an NBA record. Memphis couldn’t get any closer than 13 points until the final two minutes. After guarding James close to midcourt when the Memphis agitator struck him in the groyne, Brooks was dismissed 17 seconds into the second half. After a quick video review, officials tossed Brooks as the NBA’s all-time leading scorer rolled around on the court in agony.
Before being ejected, Brooks had just seven points on 3-for-13 shooting in front of a hostile sellout crowd of Lakers fans. He attracted the wrath of the Lakers faithful for his actions during and following Game 2, when the 27-year-old Brooks referred to the 38-year-old James as “old” and downplayed James’ skills. In the third quarter, this rivalry remained heated as Los Angeles Lakers forward Hachimura received a technical foul for his angry response to a foul.
The Grizzlies never got closer than nine points in the final minutes of Game 3, but aside from the physical play, the Lakers held a commanding lead. The Grizzlies’ Desmond Bane scored 18 points. The Lakers’ first playoff game in ten years was attended by a rowdy crowd, and Brooks’ provocative behaviour served as the ideal outlet for the fans’ fervour. Before his dismissal, the crowd jeered Brooks during warm-ups and every time he touched the ball, but more importantly, the Lakers played with a similar edge right from the start of the game. The only player to be dismissed from multiple playoff games in franchise history is Brooks. In his six-year career, he has been ejected six times, and this season, he was suspended twice for two technical fouls. Since 2013, Memphis hadn’t competed in a postseason game in Los Angeles.
From the side of the Los Angeles Lakers,17 points were scored by D’Angelo Russell. He made a four-point play in the opening frame, the first time the Lakers had done so in a postseason game since Kobe Bryant in 2009. The last playoff match featuring the 17-time NBA champions had a full house in 2013. The Lakers missed the following six postseasons, and their run to the 2020 title game took place in the Florida bubble. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, they could only host three first-round games in 2021 with a half-full arena.
Given how the games have progressed between these two teams, the fans are naturally excited for game 4 which is on Monday night in Los Angeles.
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