The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Memphis 128-112 in the opening game of their Western Conference series on Sunday night.
Rui Hachimura gave a prime performance with a career-best playoff scoring of 29 points, including 21 in the second half, and LeBron James added 21 points and 11 rebounds.
Austin Reaves added 23 points, including nine straight towards the end as the Lakers pulled away. Anthony Davis had 22 points and 12 rebounds, and D’Angelo Russell, who scored only two points in the Lakers’ play-in win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, closed with 19 points.
Jaren Jackson Jr. led Memphis with 31 points, while Desmond Bane scored 22. Ja Morant had 18 points before leaving in the fourth quarter with an injury on his right hand.
“It was our supporting cast that won us the game tonight,” said James, who had 21 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 blocks.
The Lakers needed the extra effort from their roster with things looking dicey at halftime, trailing by 6 at that time.
Then Hachimura went 4-for-4 from 3 in six minutes of playing time in the third quarter and the Lakers were back in control. According to the fourth-year forward who was acquired in a trade with Washington in January; they were all shots he specifically practiced coming into the series, with Lakers assistant coach Phil Handy scouting the gaps in the Grizzlies’ defense that Hachimura could target.
“The way they guard me, they’re going to be in the paint so I got to be ready to shoot those kind of shots,” Hachimura said.
