It was win-or-go-home time for the Grizzlies heading into Wednesday night’s Game 5 against the L.A. Lakers at FedExForum, and win they did — by a final score of 116-99. The victory forces a Game 6 in Los Angeles, as the series moves to 3-2. The Grizzlies will need to win on the road to avoid elimination, something they have yet to do in this series.
Let’s get into it.
Playoff time in Memphis is a special time, and FedExForum was buzzing with energy. As we have seen in the regular season, home-court advantage really does make a difference for this Grizzlies team.
So far in this series, the team that wins the first quarter is the team that wins the game, and that continued to be the case Wednesday night. The Grizzlies went on a 15-4 run at the end of the first quarter, including two made threes from Luke Kennard and a Desmond Bane three to beat the buzzer, to give them a 38-24 lead heading into the second.
Memphis played a little sloppier in the second quarter, but still took a 61-52 lead into halftime.
The third quarter started off with two quick buckets by the Lakers, and for a moment I wondered if we were about to see another collapse by Memphis, especially when Dillon Brooks kept taking threes. Once Coach Jenkins benched Brooks, the Grizzlies were able to drive their lead back up after it was cut to one and close out on a 19-2 run.
There was a moment of panic when Kennard was subbed out for Brooks in the 4th after Kennard suffered a stinger injury to his shoulder. During his postgame press conference, Jenkins was asked about the status of Kennard: “TBD. I think he just got cracked on a screen. Just getting evaluated, was feeling in the locker room, good spirits. (He) was maybe a little bit more precautionary, but I don’t have all the details on what happened to Luke outside of where he got hit in his shoulder.”
Fun fact: in the 17:39 Luke Kennard was on the court the Grizzlies outscored the Lakers by 26.
By The Numbers:
Desmond Bane led all scorers with 33 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists while shooting 4 of 9 from beyond the arc. This marks the second 30-point game in a row for Bane.
Ja Morant put up 31 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists, and 1 steal.
Jaren Jackson Jr finished the night with 18 points, 10 rebounds, 1 steal, and 2 blocks on 5 of 11 shooting overall and 6 of 6 from the free throw line.
Dillon Brooks had 8 points and 2 rebounds, after going 2 of 10 from three-point range and 3 of 15 overall. I would like to start a petition to limit Brooks shooting to mid-range jumpers from now until forever.
Who Got Next?
Game 6 will be Friday night in Los Angeles, and it is another must-win for the Grizzlies to keep their season alive.
Get your caffeinated beverage of choice ready now – tip-off is at 9:30 PM CDT.
