History repeated itself once again, so many decisive goals from star forward LeBron James and center Anthony Davis were the key that allowed the Los Angeles Lakers to extend their winning streak to four consecutive wins after beating the Memphis Grizzlies 92-94 on Tuesday .
James and Davis combined with two double-doubles of 26 points, 11 and 10 rebounds, respectively, that made the difference in the final score.
The star forward also distributed seven assists and German point guard Denis Schroder reached 12 points as the Lakers’ third highest scorer (6-2) and a perfect 4-0 record in games played away from his Staples Center field.
Spanish center Marc Gasol, who played 10 and a half seasons with the Grizzlies before being traded to the Toronto Raptors in 2019, returned to Memphis for the first time as a new Lakers player and played the second game in which he contributed. three points after playing 19 minutes as a starter.
The Sant Boi player made 1 of 3 shots from the field, which was a triple of two attempts and did not go to the personnel line.
But Gasol did a great defensive job again, capturing four rebounds under the Lakers’ rim, gave two assists, recovered a ball, lost another and put up two blocks.
His weak point was that he committed five personal fouls and that forced Lakers coach Frank Vogel to have fewer minutes on the field.
In a night not very inspired by attack by both teams, the Lakers, who won the second consecutive game played in Memphis, were able to depend on James and Davis in the final stretch as usual, without their basketball generating any interest. special.
The Lakers trailed 79-77, with five minutes to go, when the Los Angeles team’s two billionaire stars combined to score a 9-2 streak for an 81-86 partial lead, which would be the decisive one.
The final basket came with a dunk from Davis who, as usual, also received assistance from James at key moments.
The two combined for a streak of 15 straight points at the end of the quarter that put the Lakers with an 83-92 run with just half a minute to go.
No longer having any fear of the rival, the Lakers allowed the Grizzlies to score a few baskets down the stretch to make up the result, but not avoid defeat.
Los Angeles ‘defense held the Grizzlies to 43.5% shooting from the field in the first half, but the reigning NBA champions’ attack was also uninspired.
The Lakers concluded the first half with 41.3 percent shooting from the field and the Grizzlies were up 10 points to go into the break with a four-point lead (49-45).
Lithuanian center Jonas Valanciunas, who came to the Grizzlies as a replacement for Gasol’s transfer to the Raptors, guard Dillon Brooks and fellow Senegalese number five Gorgui Dieng led the Memphis team with 13 points each.
Valanciunas also grabbed 11 rebounds that left him with a new double-double, which was the seventh in a row so far this season.
While power forward Brandon Clarke scored 12 points, recovered three balls and put a stopper, which did not prevent the second consecutive loss for the Grizzlies (2-5), who have lost all four games played in their FedExForum field.
Rookie guard Desmond Bane saw his streak of multiple 3-pointers end in six.
That marked the second-longest streak to start an NBA career behind Finnish power forward Lauri Markkanen’s 10 in a row with the Chicago Bulls during the 2017-18 season.
