MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Lakers’ supporting cast led them to a 128-112 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies in Game 1 of their first-round Western Conference playoff series on Sunday at FedEx Forum. Rui Hachimura scored 29 points in a reserve role and starter Austin Reeves had 14 of his 23 points during a dominant fourth quarter.
Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is Wednesday night in Memphis.
The second-seeded Grizzlies played the final 5:48 with leading scorer Ja Morant sidelined by an injury. He fell heavily to the court after a collision under the basket and departed for the locker room, letting out a yell in pain that was audible throughout the arena. Morant had 18 points for the Grizzlies.
Jaren Jackson Jr. led Memphis with 31 points.
Lakers coach Darvin Ham promised to give Morant a bunch of different coverage looks, but it was Jarred Vanderbilt who drew the initial assignment. Vanderbilt followed Morant here, there and everywhere in the opening minutes, turning his back to the other action at times.
The seventh-seeded Lakers led by as many as 10 points in the first half but trailed by 65-59 at halftime. The Lakers lost Anthony Davis for the final 1:15 of the half when he suffered an apparent stinger in his right arm during a collision in the paint. The Lakers called for a timeout and then sent Davis to the locker room.
Davis had 10 points and six rebounds in the first half. He returned to the game to start the third quarter, apparently no worse for his temporary arm-numbing injury and finished with 22 points on 10-of-17 shooting, 12 rebounds, seven blocked shots and three steals.
Jackson countered with 15 points and five points for the Grizzlies, who trailed by 30-20 in the closing minutes of the first quarter before rallying before the end of the half. Morant had 10 points in the half, including a floater in the closing seconds that gave the Grizzlies a 65-59 lead.
The Lakers took back the lead entering the fourth quarter, taking a 96-90 advantage on…
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