The Los Angeles Lakers closed out the Memphis Grizzlies in dominant fashion on Saturday night, beating them by 40 in Game 6 at Crypto.com Arena.
It felt like poetic justice for LeBron James and the Lakers after they had to endure all of the trash-talking by Dillon Brooks and the Grizzlies before and during the series.
Brooks made it clear from the beginning that he wanted to face James and the Lakers, and he even went as far as calling the L.A. superstar ‘old’ after Game 2, adding that he enjoys poking bears. Brooks said that he would not respect James until he gave him 40 points, and LeBron proceeded to have a 20-20 game and then the Lakers beat the Grizzlies by exactly 40 points in the close out Game 6.
Throughout the series, James made it a point to not respond to Brooks and the Grizzlies’ trash-talk, instead letting his game do the talking.
Now that the series is over though, the gloves are off as James took to both Twitter and Instagram to take not-so-subtle shots at Brooks and the Grizzlies:
Unlike you little ?I'm a grown ass man
Big shoes to fill ?, grown ass pants
Prolly hustled with your pops, go ask your parents
Its apparent you're staring at a legend
Who, put a few little ?in the they place before
Trying to eat without saying they grace before! ??— LeBron James (@KingJames) April 29, 2023
The Twitter post is lyrics from Jay-Z’s song ‘Trouble,’ which is very fitting after what transpired. And the Instagram post is of course in response to Brook’s comments about poking bears. It’s also something Lakers legend Kobe Bryant famously said in 2013.
It was James and the Lakers that got the last laugh with their dominant Game 6 performance, prompting Brooks to again leave the arena without speaking to the media.
Perhaps this series will be a learning experience for Brooks and the Grizzlies, who have put a target on themselves across the league for their trash-talking. Brooks was unable to back up his talk as he averaged 10.5 points on 31.2% shooting and 23.8% from 3 while also allowing LeBron to score on him with ease.
James says Lakers had Game 7 mentality to close out series
One thing that was clear early on Saturday was that the Lakers did not want to go back to Memphis for a Game 7. James confirmed that postgame, saying they had a Game 7 mentality in Game 6 in order to close out the series in front of their home fans.
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