LOS ANGELES — Oftentimes when his team is going through a rough patch in the season, Lakers coach JJ Redick references the popular line from Jay-Z’s “A Week Ago” when Jay-Z rapped “It was all good just a week ago.”
But that sentiment hadn’t been uttered by Redick recently going into Friday’s home game against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Because a week ago, the Lakers were coming off their season-worst three-game losing streak. And even though they were coming off back-to-back wins a week before that, those victories came after they dropped three of their previous five games.
But Redick made it clear that this stretch of struggles didn’t feel different than others. And that there was still a belief and care within the locker room, which the Lakers showed in their 128-121 victory over the Grizzlies at Crypto.com Arena, kicking off a new year and a two-game set against Memphis.
Because each time the Grizzlies pushed the Lakers, they pushed back, led by high-scoring performances from Luka Doncic and LeBron James, with the duo dominating the fourth quarter.
Doncic had 34 points (going 17 for 20 at the free-throw line), eight assists and six rebounds, while James recorded 31 points (12-of-18 shooting), nine rebounds and six assists.
Jake LaRavia added 21 points, nine rebounds and two assists – his first 20-point game since Nov. 2. He scored 18 points in the first half and 11 in the opening quarter.
The Lakers (21-11) maintained a perfect 11-0 record in games that featured clutch minutes – when the score is within five points in the final five minutes – after going on a 12-2 run to take a 121-112 lead when James made a layup with 1:57 left.
They’re the only team in the league that hasn’t lost a game featuring clutch minutes.
Jaren Jackson Jr., who battled foul trouble throughout the game, had 25 points to lead the Grizzlies, who will face the Lakers again on Sunday night. Former Laker Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 20 points (4 for 6 from 3-point range) and five rebounds off the bench. Ja Morant had 16 points and 11 assists coming off his 40-point game in an overtime loss to Philadelphia on Tuesday.
The Grizzlies were missing six players, including center Zach Edey.
Marcus Smart added 13 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the Lakers, while backup center Jaxson Hayes scored 12.
The Lakers had a 39-31 lead going into the second quarter for their second advantage after the opening quarter in the last month.
They also held a 66-60 lead going into halftime despite squandering a 55-40 lead when the Grizzlies scored 18 unanswered points.
Doncic, James and LaRavia each scored in the final 2½ minutes of the second quarter to help the Lakers regain the lead before halftime.
More to come on this story.