LOS ANGELES (Compton Bulletin) – Good riddance. The Los Angeles Lakers demolished the Memphis Grizzlies, 125-85, in Game 6 of their first-round playoff series Friday night at a thumping Crypto Arena. Memphis was embarrassingly put to bed in a blowout to end the series as the Lakers move on forward to the next round.
LA fans continued to feed energy to the Lakers, and it paid off as they had an impressively strong start while defending their home court. The first quarter was filled with smooth moves from Los Angeles. Austin Reaves juked Memphis players out, per usual, and made clutch threes while D’Angelo Russell found a groove right off the bat.
Playoff career-high for @Dloading pic.twitter.com/BOWv2lQQoV
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) April 29, 2023
Anthony Davis had exceptional blocks and used his vertical advantages to his power with back-to-back dunks.
The game leaders for the Lakers were Russell with 31 points, and Davis, who chipped in with 16 points and 14 rebounds.
LeBron James ended his night with 22 points, five rebounds, and six assists. In the postgame press conference, Russell said the Lakers were able to keep the momentum going throughout the game because of how well their start was.
“I think a game like this, it’s whoever gets off to a good start and tonight we did that,” Russell said. “When Lakers coach Darvin Ham spoke about the team’s hot defense he said, “Every possession we played on our toes, not on our heels…huge defensive night for us. Especially in the first half.”
Ham also spoke about James’ ability to continue his intense skillset after all these years.
“LeBron…I’ve never seen anything like that. And to sustain that all these years…it’s nothing short of amazing. When you’re around him daily and see how he prepares, it doesn’t surprise you.”
During his turn at the postgame press conference, James spoke about how the game of basketball and his
sons keep him young.
“My boys keep me young. Usually before games, I watch a lot of films on the opponent. About 45 minutes from the clock, I was watching him play and that inspires me as well,” said James.
Davis said earlier in the day that he would play the entire 48 minutes if it meant the Lakers would walk
away with a series win. He may not have played the full 48 minutes, but he did play a fantastic 28 minutes of full-throttle defense.
The Lakers were in sync while they stayed on the rebounds like bees on honey and took a double-digit lead before the first period came to an end. During the second quarter, the Lakers hardly kept their hands off the ball as they looked the Grizzlies look clumsy and off their game. The lead grew to 17 points while LA stayed full of aggression.
And when a shot fell an inch short, Davis stepped up and kept up his energy to claim the rebounds. By the beginning of the third quarter, Russell already had 20 points and led the team further past Memphis. James and Davis were right behind with double-digit points as well.
AND 1 FOR AD pic.twitter.com/1C9g3k5zQ5
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) April 29, 2023
Russell and Jared Vanderbilt made consecutive 3-pointers that brought the energy in the arena to a higher level. In the last twenty seconds of the third, the Lakers hit 100 points and the Grizzlies were far down at 67.
After the insane blowout, Los Angeles brought to the court, the Lakers will continue forward in the playoffs. After a slow start, the ball is now literally in their court.
Photo Credit: Feature Image of Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis (3) was taken by photographer Mark Hammond. File photo
California State University Dominguez Hills journalism major. Editor in chief of Cypress College Chronicle 2019. Born and raised in La Mirada, CA