LeBron James poured in 37 points and Anthony Davis added 36 as the visiting Los Angeles Lakers held off the pesky Memphis Grizzlies for a 123-120 win on Friday night.
With the victory, Los Angeles (46-35) jumped into the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference.
The Lakers, Warriors and Kings all entered the day at 45-35. Sacramento and Golden State, however, both lost later Friday to sit one game back at No. 9 and No. 10, respectively.
Memphis (27-54) gave the Lakers a run for their money, as it was up 118-117 following a pair of Jake LaRavia free throws with 1:06 left in the game.
But James was too much to handle for the young Grizzlies, converting a layup with 44.1 seconds to go before tacking on a pair of free throws that made it 121-118.
To add insult to injury, James then came up with a loose ball and threw home a windmill dunk in transition to put an exclamation point on the win.
Davis grabbed 14 rebounds to finish with a double-double. Rui Hachimura chipped in 14 points for Los Angeles, which snapped a two-game skid.
GG Jackson led Memphis with 31 points, while LaRavia and Scotty Pippen Jr. each finished with 28. Jordan Goodwin collected 23 points and 17 boards as the Grizzlies got outshot 51.9 percent to 45.3 percent from the field.
James converted a layup with 7:16 remaining in the third quarter to tie things at 77-all before Memphis took over.
The Grizzlies put together a 12-3 run to go up 89-80 with 5:03 left, getting seven points from LaRavia during the outburst.
There were three lead changes over the final 2:06 of the third, the last of which gave the Lakers a 98-97 advantage that they took into the fourth.
Davis had 13 points to help Los Angeles build a 34-26 lead through the first 12 minutes of action.
LaRavia and Jackson caught fire in the second quarter, combining for 29 of Memphis’ 38 points in the frame. The duo wasn’t able to provide the Grizzlies with a lead at the break, though, as the Lakers carried a 68-64 edge into intermission.
–Field Level Media
