Quick Recap: Reaves, Hachimura help Lakers steal Game One, Morant exits with a wrist injury

The Memphis Grizzlies welcomed the Los Angeles Lakers to FedExForum for Game One of this first-round series and it was a battle.

First Quarter

The action was back and forth to start. Ja Morant looked as good as ever to begin the game as he flew to the basket with game-breaking speed. Jaren Jackson Jr. bullied LeBron James inside to get some early points.

For Los Angeles, D’Angelo Russell struggled early shooting 1/5 and 0/2 from deep in the period. Anthony Davis was dominant inside bullying Jackson and the Memphis bigs on the boards. AD was stifling defensively, minimizing Memphis’s paint scoring. Davis finished with eight points and five rebounds in the quarter. 

Desmond Bane ignited some offense after the Lakers grew a 10-point lead. He drilled a free-throw line jumper before swinging a beautiful cross-court pass to Santi Aldama for a three-pointer. 

After one, the Lakers led 32-27. 

Second Quarter

Early into the quarter, Dennis Schroder picked up his third foul but Lakers head coach Darvin Ham decided to leave the veteran point guard in. James made an impact early in the quarter on both ends, including an electric chase-down block. 

Bane drew contact on every drive to the basket, getting the Grizzlies into the bonus with over nine minutes left in the period. Dillon Brooks picked up his third foul only three minutes into the quarter, leaving Bane to guard James. David Roddy made his first appearance as Bane headed to the bench. Roddy, in his first-ever playoff minutes, drew the James matchup as he shared the floor with Morant, Tyus Jones and Luke Kennard. 

Threes from Bane and Aldama put the Grizzlies out in front with four to go in the first half. As the quarter wound down, Davis grabbed his shoulder in pain and headed to the locker room. It was unclear what happened in the play to cause the pain but with AD out of the game, JJJ went to work. Jackson dominated in the paint, drilled a three and swatted a shot to ignite a fast break. 

TOOK SUM pic.twitter.com/8Sq3LruLJU

— Memphis Grizzlies (@memgrizz) April 16, 2023

Memphis entered halftime up 65-59. Jackson led all scorers with 19 points to go along with five rebounds and two blocks. 

Third Quarter

Davis was back for the Lakers to start the second half and immediately got on the board. Bane started to cook in the third quarter, using his speed to drive to the hoop and get open threes.  

Russell was on fire in the third, making everything from beyond the arc. Morant started to find a rhythm, sinking midrange jumpers and two three-pointers. Four long balls from Rui Hachimura propelled the Lakers ahead midway through the period. 

Los Angeles scored 37 points in the quarter to take a 96-90 lead going into the fourth.

Fourth Quarter

Jones hit a big three and Bane raced to the hoop to cut LA’s lead to one within the first minute. Memphis came out with an energy that the Lakers struggled to match early. The Grizzlies were crashing the boards, running in transition and getting to the hoop. 

Hachimura continued his incredible performance, sinking midrange jumpers. Midway through the fourth quarter, Morant went up hard landing on his wrist. He quickly let out an expletive and sprinted to the locker room. On the next possession, Bane picked up his foul and Taylor Jenkins decided to sub him out. James then hit a deep ball to make it a 108-101 game with under six to go.

feed 13. @MemphisTravel | #BigMemphis pic.twitter.com/KUpUe7DZ3n

— Memphis Grizzlies (@memgrizz) April 16, 2023

Jackson came out of the timeout and went to work. He got to the paint getting easy buckets in the paint. Hachimura hit another three after the Lakers cut it to two. Brooks and Jackson hit threes to cut the lead to one. 

Austin Reaves hit big shot after big shot down the stretch to make it an eight-point lead with under two minutes to go. Reaves scored nine straight for the Lakers and 14 in the quarter. Los Angeles went on a 15-0 run to end the game and close out the Grizzlies. LA outscored the Grizzlies 30-11 over the last eight minutes of the game. 

Final Score: Los Angeles 128, Memphis 112

Jackson Jr.: 31 points (13/21 FG, 2/4 3PT), 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks

Bane: 22 points (6/18 FG, 3/10 3PT), 5 rebounds, 6 assists

Hachimura: 29 points (11/14 FG, 5/6 3PT), 6 rebounds

Reaves: 23 points (8/13 FG, 3/5 3PT), 4 assists