LA Rides Big 2nd Half from Hachimura to Win Game 1 vs. Memphis

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Rui Hachimura scored a total of 29 points and LeBron James earned 21 points plus 11 rebounds in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 128-112 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday. Rui was especially impressive, getting an impressive 21 points during the second half alone!

Austin Reaves scored 23 points, and D’Angelo Russell had 19. Nine of Austin’s points came late in the game to help the team step ahead. Anthony Davis got 22 points plus 12 rebounds. Memphis was led by Jaren Jackson Jr., who made 31 points, and Desmond Bane with 22. Ja Morant was on 18 when he left in the fourth quarter because he hurt his right hand.

The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Memphis Grizzlies, who had the best home record of 35 wins and 6 losses in the NBA this season. This means that Game 2 between the two teams will take place in Los Angeles on Wednesday.

Rui Hachimura, from Japan, helped out the Lakers with lots of 3-pointers during the third quarter, making all four attempts! Prior to joining the Lakers as part of a mid-season trade, he had only played once in the playoffs with Washington back in 2021 when they lost against Philadelphia.

The Lakers won the playoffs in the West by being better than Minnesota during a special ‘play-in’ tournament. The Lakers had not been playing during the 2022 season and were knocked out of the playoffs in 2021, when they lost to Phoenix Suns.

Memphis also won 51 games, which was their second consecutive 50-win season. They were then given the number two seed for their achievement.

At the start, the Lakers were winning by 10 points. Defensive player Jarred Vanderbilt was doing a good job at stopping Memphis guard Morant from entering the “paint”. Despite this early lead, Memphis managed to pull ahead and finished the first half with a 65-59 score.

The Lakers are playing against the Memphis team in this post-season for the first time. Davis got injured on his right arm during the second quarter of the game, but he continued to play when it became the second half. Around 8:41 and 8:42 left in the second quarter, Los Angeles committed their first and second turnovers respectively. Additionally, James achieved a good personal milestone by taking Robert Horry’s 24th place record for most playoff points scored by any Los Angeles player ever.

The Memphis Grizzlies are missing two players: Steven Adams who has hurt his knee, and Brandon Clarke with an Achilles tendon tear. Morant’s hand was wrapped due to a bruising, but he got it injured again after landing awkwardly and receiving a charge from Davis in the fourth quarter.