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LOS ANGELES — Pressure? What pressure?
Forget the 0-2 start, the sky-high expectations and scrutiny, the incidents of sniping connected the sideline a crippled ago, the vice tightening Sunday nighttime astatine Staples Center had everything to bash with Ja Morant.
And the seasoned Lakers withstood the Memphis Grizzlies’ spellbinding, springy young guard’s determined effort, winning for the archetypal clip this season, 121-118.
Carmelo Anthony came disconnected the seat and made past to assistance enactment the Lakers implicit the hump.
With his sixth tract extremity of the nighttime – a 3-pointer that enactment the Lakers ahead, 83-81 – Anthony passed Moses Malone for ninth spot connected the NBA’s all-time scoring list: with 27,411 points and counting.
For the evening, the 37-year-old Anthony, playing successful his 19th season, tallied 28 points connected 10-for-15 shooting, including going 6 for 8 from 3-point scope and sinking the game-sealing escaped throws with 1.9 seconds to play.
“Carmelo Anthony was awesome tonight,” Lakers manager Frank Vogel said. “He didn’t crawl up to that milestone, helium blew the doors disconnected of it. And I’m super-happy for him, he’s been a large civilization acceptable with our radical and evidently truly playing astatine a precocious level connected the floor. He’s got a batch near successful the vessel and he’s truly gonna assistance america this year.”
Anthony’s efforts helped the Lakers (1-2) withstand a 40-point, 10-assist amusement from Morant, who changeable 13 for 21 and a career-best 5 for 7 from deep. He besides went 9 for 11 astatine the free-throw line, wherever 1 of his misses outgo the Grizzlies a accidental to necktie the people with 1.9 seconds left.
Relentless and unpredictable, Morant scored connected a bid of twisting, elevating circus shots and connected different slicing two-handed dunk successful the 3rd quarter. In that play alone, Morant scored 10 points connected 5-for-8 shooting and recorded six assists – a series truthful scorching Coach Frank Vogel to the bullpen for Avery Bradley, his designated antiaircraft stopper for a mates of minutes to chill disconnected the 22-year-old.
The Grizzlies (2-1) utilized a 7-2 tally to chopped the Lakers’ pb to 106-102. They were inactive determination with a infinitesimal to go, down 115-112 erstwhile Morant drove down the lane again – the Laker faithful connected their feet, chanting “de-fense!,” seemingly having seen capable Morant highlights for 1 nighttime – and drew a foul with 57.6 ticks to go.
The Lakers challenged the telephone successfully, mounting up a leap shot betwixt Anthony Davis and Steven Adams. Morant coiled up with the ball, drove again, mislaid the shot and Adams was called for fouling Davis arsenic helium was heading backmost upcourt.
Memphis challenged that telephone – besides successfully, though nary 1 scored again until Morant went to the free-throw enactment with 11.2 seconds left. His archetypal escaped propulsion bounced astir and in, his 2nd swished done cleanly – and the Lakers’ pb was squeezed to 115-114.
Malik Monk (12 points) made 2 escaped throws for L.A, Jaren Jackson Jr. (12 points) deed his 2 escaped throws for Memphis, and past Davis (22 points) deed a brace of foul shots arsenic the timepiece stalled and the pb ebbed betwixt 1 and 3 points.
Finally, with 5.6 seconds near and the Lakers up 119-116, Morant attempted a agelong 3-pointer – which rimmed out, but helium was fouled by Kent Bazemore.
He made the archetypal 2 escaped throws and missed the past 1 – chucking his mouthpiece astatine the level aft the Lakers got the shot backmost with 1.9 seconds to spell and the crippled successful hand, up 119-118 and Anthony shooting the last foul shots.
They were bully – and Anthony went location with 27,423 points to his credit.
“Losing your archetypal 2 location games didn’t beryllium good with our group,” Vogel said. “Came retired precise motivated contiguous and we got a batch of content successful who we tin beryllium this year, but we besides person a batch of enactment to bash and we had a very, precise productive movie league yesterday, cleaned a batch of things up. And the effort was overmuch amended tonight, the attraction to item was overmuch amended contiguous and that’s however we’re gonna person to amended and gel.”
The Lakers slipped disconnected the starting enactment Sunday, falling down 17-7 earlier they settled and stopped turning implicit the ball.
By the clip the opening 4th ended, the hosts had the vantage 29-24 – and their archetypal made leap shot, courtesy of Anthony, who drained a 28-foot 3-pointer with 38.6 seconds near successful the period.
The Lakers maintained power successful the 2nd 4th – erstwhile Staples Center got a scare with 6:23 near arsenic LeBron James bent awkwardly successful a collision beneath Memphis’ handbasket and tumbled to the court, clutching his little close leg. After a fewer moments to cod himself and trial it out, and immoderate encouragement from Davis, James (19 points, six assists successful 40 minutes) remained successful the crippled and the Lakers’ discourtesy kept humming.
That was helped successful portion by a dependable dose of Russell Westbrook, who had 9 of his 13 assists earlier helium scored but past reeled disconnected 4 consecutive makes to lucifer his scoring tally with his assists heading into halftime, the Lakers leading, 33-32. He finished with 13 points connected 5-for-15 shooting, 4 steals and 9 turnovers.
Morant went into halftime with 17 points, including a career-game-high-tying 4 3-pointers, and 4 assists.
Similar to the commencement of the game, the Lakers’ starters came retired of halftime sluggishly, getting outscored 14-7 retired of intermission arsenic the Grizzlies turned a six-point shortage into a 70-69 vantage with 7:19 near successful the period.
More to travel connected this story.
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