MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Anthony Davis’ value for the Lakers was clear well before Wednesday night’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies.
But just in case there were any doubts, the Lakers’ 131-114 loss, which dropped them to 4-4 overall and 1-4 on their road trip, was a reminder.
Playing without their All-Star big man, who was sidelined with a bruised left heel, in addition to starting forward Rui Hachimura, was always going to be an uphill battle for the Lakers. Especially since they’re already without Jarred Vanderbilt and Christian Wood, stripping the Lakers of most of their frontcourt size.
And the Grizzlies (5-4) made the Lakers pay for playing undersized, dominating the interior all night at FedEx Forum.
The Lakers competed with the Grizzlies behind the strong offensive play of LeBron James, who scored a season-high 39 points on 15-of-24 shooting to go with seven rebounds and six assists.
But no other Laker consistently found an offensive rhythm.
The Lakers shot 15 for 48 from 3-point range, with James going 6 for 11, and 44.1% (41 for 93) from the field.
Austin Reaves (19 points, five assists), D’Angelo Russell (12 points, three assists) and rookie Dalton Knecht (three points) made just five of their combined 25 3-point attempts.
Knecht left the game in the fourth quarter, holding his jaw/mouth as he went to the bench and the locker room. Russell didn’t play in the final 18½ minutes.
Those misses, especially early, turned into fast-break opportunities for the Grizzlies – an area of weakness for the Lakers and a strength for Memphis.
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The Grizzlies were led by star guard Ja Morant (20 points, five assists), who left the game late in the third after coming up limping and calling for a timeout after an errant alley-oop attempt. The Grizzlies said his return to the game was doubtful because of a right hamstring issue.
Jaren Jackson Jr. and Jaylen Wells also had 20 points for Memphis.
Cam Reddish, in the Lakers’ rotation for the second consecutive game after an impressive performance in Monday’s loss to the Detroit Pistons, finished with a season-high 15 points to go with six rebounds in 26 minutes.
Former Lakers two-way contract players Jay Huff (11 points) and Scotty Pippen Jr. (14 points, six rebounds, four assists) were impactful for Memphis off the bench.
The Lakers host the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday night at Crypto.com Arena.
More to come on this story.