The Memphis Grizzlies rallied from behind to defeat the Los Angeles Lakers for their third straight victory. Ja Morant scored 41 points.
In a 104-99 victory, Morant hit a career-high six three-pointers.
Russell Westbrook had a triple-double with 16 points, 10 rebounds, and 12 assists for the Lakers, led by LeBron James’ 37 points.
However, the Grizzlies rallied from a 14-point hole in the third quarter, led by the 22-year-old Morant.
Morant was praised as a “genuine superstar” by Lakers coach David Fizdale, who was filling in for head coach Frank Vogel at the FedExForum in Memphis.
The Lakers had just halted a five-game losing streak against the Houston Rockets when they were defeated for the sixth time in seven games.
In other news, the Phoenix Suns defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 115-97 to tie the Golden State Warriors for first place in the Western Conference.
As the Suns matched the Warriors’ 27-7 record, Devin Booker scored 38 points and became the seventh youngest player to surpass 10,000 career points.
The Chicago Bulls defeated the Atlanta Hawks 131-117, despite losing 15 players due to COVID-19 and injuries.
The Bulls extended their winning streak to five games thanks to Zach LaVine’s 25 points.
Eric Bledsoe scored 10 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter to help the Los Angeles Clippers defeat the Boston Celtics 91-82.
The Sacramento Kings beat the Dallas Mavericks 95-94 on Chimezie Metu’s buzzer-beating three-pointer, while Alec Burks scored 34 points to lead the New York Knicks to a 94-85 victory over the depleted Detroit Pistons.
Because of COVID and injuries, the Miami Heat were unable to field the required eight players for their game against the San Antonio Spurs. ……….
