NBA: Despite Ja Morant injury, Grizzlies handle Lakers

Date:

Share post:


Ja Morant scored 20 points before leaving the game late in the third quarter with an injury and Jaren Jackson Jr. and Jaylen Wells also contributed 20 to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to a 131-114 victory Wednesday over the visiting Los Angeles Lakers.

LeBron James had 39 points to lead the Lakers, who played without injured big man Anthony Davis, the NBA’s leading scorer at 32.6 points per game. Austin Reaves added 19 for Los Angeles, which lost for the fourth time in five games.

Memphis was aided by its strong long-range shooting. The Grizzlies made 17- of 34 3-pointers, including 12 of 16 in the second half.

Morant took a hard fall with 3:45 left in the third quarter while attempting a left-handed dunk. He walked to the locker room and did not return. He was later diagnosed with a right hamstring injury.

Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins missed the game because of a death in his family. Assistant Tuomas Iisalo served as head coach in Jenkins’ absence.

Davis did not play because of a left heel injury. Through seven games this season Davis is averaging 11.6 rebounds and shooting 57.1 percent.

Ahead by six at the half, the Grizzlies used torrid shooting from beyond the arc to extend their lead to 95-81 at the end of the third quarter. Memphis made 8 of 10 3-pointers in the quarter, including three by reserve Jay Huff, a former Laker.

The Grizzlies built their advantage of 21 points late in the fourth quarter following a 3-pointer from the rookie Wells.

The Lakers were coming off a 115-103 loss at Detroit on Monday.

The Grizzlies, who never trailed, led by 10 late in the first quarter and by six (59-53) at halftime.

James had 22 at the half for the Lakers and Morant had 13 for the Grizzlies. Without Davis, the Lakers were outrebounded 31-20 in the first half.

Memphis reserve wing Luke Kennard appeared in his first game of the season. He had missed the first eight games of the season with a muscle strain in his left foot.

–Field Level Media

spot_img

Related articles

WNCAAB: South Carolina unanimous No. 1 following 2-0 start

Defending national champion South Carolina was the unanimous No. 1 team in The Associated Press Top 25 women's...

WNBA: Lynx GM Clare Duwelius leaves team to join Unrivaled

After losing to the New York Liberty in the WNBA Finals last month, the Minnesota Lynx lost general...

NCAAB: No. 8 Houston, Louisiana both see room for improvement

Houston lost its most recent game, however the Cougars' coach wasn't totally dissatisfied. Louisiana won its most recent game,...

NCAAB: Alex Karaban, No. 3 UConn look to set standard vs. Le Moyne

Third-ranked UConn will look to win its 30th straight home game against a non-conference opponent when it hosts...

FREE

Get the most important breaking news and analyses for Free.

Thank you for subscribing

Something went wrong.