LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James didn’t sugarcoat his increasingly bitter feelings after the Los Angeles Lakers suffered their 10th loss in 13 games Friday night, falling 127-113 to the Memphis Grizzlies.
“We’re just miserable right now,” a visibly upset James said after scoring 32 points in the Lakers’ fourth straight loss.
Anthony Davis scored 31 points in Los Angeles’ latest heartbreaking loss since winning the NBA’s season opener. The Lakers — who made a season-high 23 3-pointers against a Memphis team that ranks last in the NBA in 3-point shooting percentage — have beaten only San Antonio, Oklahoma City and Charlotte since lifting the trophy in Las Vegas four weeks ago.
Before the game, manager Darwin Hamm said he felt confident in his job security because of his conversations with owner Gene Buss and general manager Rob Pelinka. After the Lakers’ latest dismal effort, Hamm praised his team’s areas of improvement while also expressing curious frustration with the public’s reception of their recent struggles.
“It’s the NBA, man,” Hamm said. “It’s a marathon. You have to look at the whole picture. I’m tired of people living and dying with every game we play. It’s actually funny. It’s like, ‘Come on, man. It’s a marathon. We hit a rough patch. It’s the same team. We played some high-level games a while ago and we just have to get back to that. Still, we must continue the fight. We cannot lose our fight.”
James doesn’t share his coach’s optimism: He reacts negatively to the suggestion that the Lakers’ solid play in the finals of the tournament is an indication that this team can be a contender for the championship.
“It’s only been two games, though,” James said. “It was a small sample. Everyone is getting so fired up about Vegas, keep mentioning Vegas. It was two games. We took care of that business … but it was really just two games.
Austin Reaves had a career-high 19 points and 12 assists, but the Lakers fell to 0-2 to begin a 12-game road trip with just one game outside of Los Angeles. The Lakers admit they are feeling the strain of their losing streak.
“Wearing that uniform, you get a lot of hits and guys watch you under a microscope as a team,” Davis said. “You have a few bad games, you lose a few in a row, you can’t lose your confidence. I can’t be on social media and listen to whatever people are saying. We have to stay together in this locker room and find a way out of it. Help is not coming. No cavalry. We have to do it with the guys we have and stick together.”
Jaron Jackson Jr. hit five 3-pointers and scored 31 points and Marcus Smart added 29 points with a season-high eight 3-pointers for the Grizzlies, who earned just their second win in six games.
Desmond Bain had 24 points and 13 assists, while Ja Morant scored 21 points for Memphis, whose starting lineup combined for 21 of those 3-pointers. Smart had missed 16 straight 3-pointers over the last five games of a season-low shooting percentage before hitting the first of his 8 3-pointers against the Lakers.
Ziaire Williams added 10 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter as the Grizzlies pulled away from the Lakers 24-10.
“We’re looking pretty good,” James said. “They betrayed us. I had two critical balls, missed four free throws. But we had our chances.”
Los Angeles has won six straight home games over the Grizzlies over the past 12 months, including three in a row in the Lakers’ first-round playoff upset of the second-seeded Grizz last spring.
“It was good because obviously we haven’t won here in a while,” Morant said. “This is the team that knocked us out of the playoffs. We’re obviously not where we want to be right now during the season, so it was a big win for us. We can take the momentum from this game.”
The Lakers were without two regulars and frequent starters: D’Angelo Russell missed his third straight game with a bruised tailbone and Rui Hachimura missed his second straight with a strained left calf.
During the third quarter, Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins received a technical foul for going onto the court during a play to argue about a mismatch during a snap between James and Jackson.
Jenkins stopped Taurean Prince from leading a Lakers fast break down the other end and then aggressively fought his way through his assistants as they held him back from the officials, but Jenkins somehow didn’t get ejected. Jenkins said he apologized to Hamm for interrupting the game.
“You can’t do that, so I take all the responsibility there,” Jenkins said. “I saw a fight there. Jaren pressures LeBron. Obviously (the staff) didn’t see that and then I saw something that crossed the line. Maybe look at it after the fact, but I saw maybe some intent that I should stand up for my man. Glad to see our guys come together. It obviously attracted the audience. … I was just proud of the way they battled the whole way after a tough first 12 minutes.”
NEXT
Grizzlies: At Phoenix on Sunday.
Lakers: host the Clippers on Sunday.
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