Lakers player grades: Grizzlies top L.A. despite LeBron James’ 35 points
The Los Angeles Lakers lost to the Memphis Grizzlies, 127-119, but the scoreline was not this close for most of the game.
The Lakers trailed by 29 points as Memphis shot 60% for a good portion of the game, but L.A. made a wild fourth-quarter comeback led by Austin Reaves and Wayne Ellington to give life to a game that seemed to have none entering the final 12 minutes.
Reaves, Ellington, Kent Bazemore, Trevor Ariza and DeAndre Jordan comprised the five-man lineup that sparked a 21-0 run.
But the heroic effort just came too late. LeBron James had 31 points at one point while no other Laker had over eight, so the four-game winning streak has been snapped.
Here is how the Lakers, now 21-20, graded after the loss:
Russell Westbrook had an awful game, which was also the case the last time against Memphis. But this game was worse, as he went for six points, six assists and seven rebounds on a 2-of-12 shooting night. Ja Morant (16 points) didn’t explode for a big game, but Westbrook needed to support James tonight, and he failed.
Malik Monk: F
Malik Monk had one of his worst games of the season after going on a hot seven-game stretch. He scored seven points on 3-of-13 shooting overall to go with five rebounds, three assists and three blocks. It was just one of those nights where he missed shots he normally made, so the Lakers must hope he can bounce back.
Avery Bradley had 21 points in the last game, but his shooting disappeared tonight. He also scored seven points but shot 2-of-10 overall and 1-of-5 from deep. His shot decisions were disappointing all night.
Stanley Johnson played just 13 minutes, so there wasn’t much to look at for his game. He shot 1-of-4 from the field and didn’t look good when matching up against Memphis down low, so he gets a low grade for tonight.
LeBron James: A
If you saw LeBron James put up 35 points on 14-of-19 shooting (3-of-4 3P, 4-of-4 FT) to go with nine rebounds and seven assists, you’d think the Lakers won. But the Lakers trailed by over 20 points for a while even though James had a big scoring night. He needed his teammates to step up, but no one did until it was too late.
Carmelo Anthony played 23 minutes off the bench and shot 2-of-8 overall and 0-of-4 from deep for seven points, and his minutes at center were largely responsible for Memphis opening up the game like it did, particularly late in the second quarter.
Talen Horton-Tucker: C-plus
Talen Horton-Tucker played 19 minutes and scored 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting overall, including a 3-of-6 clip from deep. He was the only other Laker during the first three quarters who could put the ball in the basket, so he gets a passing grade. His 3-pointers going down is also a good sign.
Austin Reaves, Wayne Ellington: A
Both Reaves and Ellington scored 16 points a piece to make this a contest late in the fourth. Reaves shot 6-of-8 overall, including some wild and-1 plays. Ellington went 6-of-7 overall with a 4-of-5 clip from deep, so maybe he gets more minutes in the next game after being out of the rotation recently.
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