Without two of their best playmakers, the Lakers’ four-game winning streak came
to a crashing end in Memphis.
Injuries prevented Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram from paying, as the Lakers’
offense rarely got off the ground. Their defense fared worse as the Grizzlies
came away with a 123-114 win.
“We weren’t physically, mentally ready to match what Memphis brought tonight,”
coach Luke Walton said. “And that’s disappointing because that doesn’t have to
do with anything but the toughness to be engaged in a fight. … We let them
kind of punk us all over the floor.”
Eight Grizzlies scored in double figures, led by a near triple-double from
Tyreke Evans (15 points, 12 assists, nine rebounds) and steady scoring by Marc
Gasol (17 points).
Memphis (14-28) shot 51.2 percent from the field, while the Lakers made just
39.6.
One of the few bright spots was the two-way play of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope,
who dropped 27 points in his second-highest scoring output in his first year as
a Laker.
KCP leads the Lakers with a team-high 27 points tonight but they fall to the
Grizzlies, 114-123. #MLKDay pic.twitter.com/PREYCSJdzV
The 24-year-old was scorching from deep, hitting six 3-pointers while also
finding time for seven rebounds.
“He seems to be in a really good place right now,” Walton said. “Locked in,
making winning plays on both ends of the court, not forcing shots, creating for
others when he gets doubled.”
Caldwell-Pope’s shooting was crucial when the Lakers (15-28) rallied from a
double-digit deficit to pull within two points midway through the third quarter.
But the Grizzlies overwhelmed their visitors from there, outscoring them 30-12
through the rest of the period.
The Lakers never rallied from that deficit despite 18 points from Kyle Kuzma and
Larry Nance Jr.’s 15-point, 11-rebound double-double.
Kyle Kuzma with a nice full court pass #NBAVote (: @SpectrumSN, @spectdeportes,
& TNT) pic.twitter.com/dWcEMSHXFv
Notes Signed in the morning, Gary Payton II made his Lakers debut with four
points, four assists and two blocks in 11 minutes. … Jordan Clarkson shot just
2-of-13. … Josh Hart scored all 16 of his points in the second half. … The
Lakers shot a season-best 26-of-31 on free throws. … A crowd of 17,794 sold
out FedExForum.
#LakeShow | #MLKDay
A post shared by Los Angeles Lakers (@lakers) on Jan 15, 2018 at 2:23pm PST
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