Grizzlies fall to the Lakers & head to Portland

Posted on November 6, 2017 by Carmen Patton

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On Sunday night, the Memphis Grizzlies faced the Los Angeles Lakers in the Staples Center after defeating the Los Angeles Clippers in the same arena the afternoon before. The young Lakers came out at a fast pace and never allowed the Grizzlies to lead by more than four points, while they led by as many as twenty-two. The Grizzlies lost every quarter but the fourth and went on to lose the game to the Lakers, 107-102.

“They were quick. They were fast, they really moved the ball. Every one of those guys are looking to attack. You know, [Brandon] Ingram did a good job getting to the rim, [Kyle] Kuzma, [Kentavious] Caldwell-Pope, [Lonzo] Ball, everybody was pushing the tempo and it got into us a little bit.”

–Mike Conley

Grizzlies’ Leaders

The Grizzlies were led in scoring by Tyreke Evans, coming off the bench with 26 points in 32 minutes of action (10-16 shooting, 3-6 from three). Evans also had two assists, one rebound and one steal.

Early @NBA 6th Man of the Year candidate Tyreke Evans is averaging 17.1 points per game, the most by any player with 0 starts this season.

— Grizzlies PR (@GrizzliesPR) November 6, 2017

Mike Conley, who seems to be bouncing back from the offensive slump he was in, had 23 points in 31 minutes of action (9-17 shooting, 3-8 from three). Conley had three assists, five rebounds, one block, and one steal.

Mike defense.
Mike offense. pic.twitter.com/Ywv8NBC5Iz

— Memphis Grizzlies (@memgrizz) November 6, 2017

Marc Gasol recorded another double double with 15 points and a team high 10 rebounds in 35 minutes (6-18 shooting, 2-9 from three). Gasol also led the team in assists with seven and had one block.

The Grizzlies’ bench once again outscored the opponent bench with 46 points compared to 29 points from the Lakers’ bench. This bench continues to come out as if they have something to prove every night.

The @memgrizz bench is outscoring opposing second units by a total of almost 200 points through the first 10 games of the season (445-249).

— Grizzlies PR (@GrizzliesPR) November 6, 2017

Lakers Leaders

Veteran player Brook Lopez led the young Lakers in scoring with 21 points in 30 minutes of action (7-14 shooting, 4-6 from three). Lopez had five assists, one rebound, two blocks and one steal.

“He’s making shots like we need him to do, and he’s feeling more comfortable shooting the ball. His confidence is through the roof, and that’s what we need from him. He’s been playing well on both ends.”

–Kentavious Caldwell-Pope on Brook Lopez

Rookie Kyle Kuzma recorded a double double with 13 points (5-9 shooting, 1-3 from three) and a team high 12 rebounds.

All of the Lakers’ starters (Caldwell-Pope-15; Ingram-20; Lopez-21; Kuzma-13) posted double digit scores except rookie Lonzo Ball, who had nine points. Ball had a near double double with a team high nine assists, as well. Additionally, Jordan Clarkson and Julius Randle also scored fifteen and twelve points, respectively off the bench.

Up Next

The Grizzlies are still on the road and will take on the Portland Trailblazers. The Trailblazers are also 6-4. The Blazers are averaging about 107 points per night compared to the Grizzlies average of nearly 102 points per night. The Grizzlies, however, are allowing an average of 98 points per night to the Blazers allowance of 101 points per night. Interestingly enough, the Grizzlies and the Blazers have faced each other the last two years around this same time. The Grizzlies weren’t victorious either time. Winning in Portland is hard but not impossible. How can the Grizzlies come out of Rip City 7-4, leaving the Blazers 6-5?

Keys to the Win

Guard the perimeter. The Blazers have the fifth highest three point percentage in the league currently shooting at nearly 40 percent. If the Grizz want to win, they’ve got to keep the Blazers off the three point line.

Avoid fouls. In addition to shooting three pointers at a decent percentage, the Blazers are second in free throw percentage. They make nearly 82 percent of their free throws. The Grizzlies do well to keep the Blazers away from the charity stripe.

Bench, do you. The “We’ve Got Something to Prove” crew better known as the Memphis Grizzlies bench has to keep doing what they’ve done the last ten games. This bench has provided a needed spark in every game and has dominated the opponent in almost every game. They need to keep doing what they’ve been doing.

Don’t miss the home team tip off Tuesday night in Portland at 9:00 CST.