The suddenly fickle Grizzlies, who essentially alternated wins and losses since Christmas, began the second half of their schedule on a promising note.
Memphis (14-28) played its way back into the win column Monday evening by beating the Los Angeles Lakers, 123-114, during the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration game in FedExForum.
Los Angeles is drifting near the bottom of the Western Conference with Memphis but the Lakers had won four straight games. The Grizzlies’ victory came with good timing as they began a busy stretch pleasing their fans given seven of the next eight games are at home.
Griz interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff watched solid team defense, strong bench play and the younger players productive enough for them to establish a 20-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Here are five other quick thoughts from the game.
Brooks set the tone
Grizzlies rookie Dillon Brooks was ready for the rare 4:30 p.m. tip off. Brooks attacked the Lakers defense from the jump by making his first four shots, including a pair of 3-pointers. Brooks was also effective attacking the rim off the dribble. Dillon made clutch baskets, too. The Grizzlies had a 10-points halftime lead sliced to four early in the third period.
After Memphis forced a 24-second shot clock violation, Brooks calmly buried a 3-pointer to extend the lead. Brooks didn’t let up in the fourth, apparently taking Tryeke Evans’ advice. Evans told Brooks to shoot when he’s open just before they took the court to start the second half.
Davis dominated
Bickerstaff challenged second-year center Deyonta Davis privately and publicly to be the hardest working player on the floor during his minutes.
Davis shook off the inconsistency he’d shown from game-to-game by giving the Grizzlies a strong presence around the basket on both ends of the floor.
Most notable were Davis’ blocked shot. He swatted a career-high five shots and the defensive gems were emphatic. Davis sent Laker shots several feet out of bounds. Offensively, Davis concentration by catching lobs for easy dunks.
Defense fair but inconsistent
Despite the Grizzlies’ poor start to the third quarter that allowed the Lakers to get close early in the third, Memphis held Los Angeles to less than 40-percent shooting most of the game.
The Grizzlies harassed the Lakers into wild shots. Los Angeles didn’t play freely in transition until the fourth quarter. Memphis’ defense created easy offense midway through the third period when the Grizzlies re-established a double-digit lead.
On consecutive possessions, the Grizzlies earned stops and immediately fired long passes to streaking teammates. One play resulted in an easy score for James Ennis while Jarell Martin caught a pass in stride and scooped in layup.
Bickerstaff used long rotation
The Grizzlies saw 10 players log at least 13 minutes. Ennis played 21 minutes. Wayne Selden saw 14 minutes of action. Each picked up 13 points that helped the Grizzlies edge the Lakers, 53-51 in fast-break points.
Caldwell-Pope gave Lakers efficient offense
The Lakers played without rookie Lonzo Ball, who sat because of a left knee sprain. Brandon Ingram also missed the game due to injury. Swingman Kentavious Caldwell-Pope picked up the slack on a night when the Lakers’ offense was cold.
Caldwell-Pope matched Brooks’ production early and finished with a team-high 27 points on 8-of-16 shooting, including six 3-pointers to go with seven rebounds.