Knowing that going back to Memphis for a potential Game 7 would be far from ideal, the Los Angeles Lakers played with the fire and urgency befitting a Game 6 at home.
After allowing the Grizzlies to take an early lead, the Lakers turned it up several notches on both ends. Los Angeles has largely struggled to score offensively, especially in the half-court, but regression to the mean finally happened as they saw most of their outside looks go down.
The Lakers thoroughly outplayed the Grizzlies in the first half, leading by 17 at halftime but they didn’t get complacent as they blew the game open in the second half to win in convincing fashion.
D’Angelo Russell had mostly been alternating good and bad games this series, but he saved his best for the most important one as he couldn’t be stopped from scoring. Russell made the Grizzlies pay every time they left him open as he knocked down five of his nine 3-point attempts. Russell would go on to lead the Lakers in scoring with 31 points, and his outside shooting was what gave the Crypto.com Arena so much life during the night.
After a monstrous Game 5 effort, Anthony Davis made sure Memphis knew that he wasn’t messing around in Game 6 as it seemed like he was everywhere. In a series that he had controlled defensively, Davis took it to another level as he blotted out the paint and made the Grizzlies think twice every time they tried to get to the rim. Davis recorded another five blocks, giving him the most games in the first round of any player with five or more blocks.
While offensively he was quieter than normal only scoring 16 points, his defense is what tilted the game in the purple and gold’s favor.
LeBron James kept his promise to play better after his disappointing Game 5 performance as he resembled his old self. James played with a ferociousness on both sides of the ball, especially defensively where he got after it and terrorized the Grizzlies.
James looked comfortable picking his spots and allowing Russell to control the offense, though he did add 22 points, six assists and four rebounds in the closeout game.
What’s next for Lakers
The Lakers advance to the second round but have to wait to find out who they’re playing as the Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings play out Game 7 on Sunday. The next round will start on this upcoming Tuesday regardless of who they are playing, which will give the Lakers some much-needed rest.
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