Los Angeles Lakers

The Memphis Grizzlies earned their third straight win by defeating the Los Angeles Lakers 104-99 at home on Wednesday. Ja Morant led the way with a season-high 41 points with a career-high six three-pointers as Memphis improved to 22-14.

🤯 @JaMorant pic.twitter.com/7C00CviBTV

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 30, 2021

The Grizzlies have now won the past two meetings against the Lakers and lead the regular-season series 2-1. The two teams will face each other again next month in their final matchup of the year.

Los Angeles fell to 17-19 after its sixth loss in its last seven games. LeBron James had a team-high 37 points and tied a career-high with eight three-pointers.

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Notable Stats

G Ja Morant, MEM: 41 points (6-of-7 3PT FG), 10 rebounds

G Desmond Bane, MEM: 20 points

F LeBron James, LAL: 37 points (8-of-14 3PT FG), 13 rebounds, 7 assists

G Russell Westbrook, LAL: 16 points, 10 rebounds, 12 assists

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Morant Carries Grizzlies to Comeback Win

Throughout most of the game, Memphis struggled on offense but still managed to keep the game close. The Grizzlies shot 2-of-14 from beyond the arc in the first half but hit 12-of-13 free throws to get within six at halftime.

Morant was the lone bright spot for Memphis through the first 24 minutes, scoring 16 points. Coming out of the break, Morant turned up his energy and spearheaded a furious comeback to erase a 14-point deficit.

https://twitter.com/GrizzOnBally/status/1476387141760524288

BIG 12 IS FEELIN IT 🔥

5 Triples for @JaMorant #NBAAllStar pic.twitter.com/rwrbwqh2GJ

— Grizzlies On FanDuel Sports Network (@FDSN_Grizzlies) December 30, 2021

TURN US UP 12.

38 POINTS. 6/6 from long range. @JaMorant x #NBAAllStar pic.twitter.com/1E1NbgfqPY

— Memphis Grizzlies (@memgrizz) December 30, 2021

Morant scored 25 of his 41 points in the second half. He's the first Grizzlies player to have three career 40-point games. With Morant leading the charge, Memphis outscored Los Angeles 26-16 in the fourth quarter.

Morant has proven himself to be one of the brightest young stars in the NBA. If he keeps this up, the Grizzlies could fight for a top-three seed in the Western Conference this season.

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Lakers Waste Another Strong Performance by James

Despite the Lakers' collective struggles this season, James clearly has not lost a step and is playing some of the most efficient basketball of his career.

The 19-year veteran opened the game with 15 points in the first half, including 11 on 4-of-4 shooting in the first quarter. With James leading the way, Los Angeles led by as many as 13 before Memphis cut the lead to six heading into the break.

Make that 3/3. https://t.co/rbVV4er3Ku

— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) December 30, 2021

LeBron says NOT TODAY! 🚫 pic.twitter.com/vunkI5cF5t

— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) December 30, 2021

After hitting three of his four three-point attempts in the first half, James came out of the locker room feeling it from beyond the arc. He hit five more triples to end the game, going 8-of-14, tying his career-high for three-pointers made.

6-for-7 from deep..

Get to @NBATV to watch a locked-in LeBron! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/lh4R5rTf32

— NBA (@NBA) December 30, 2021

It was James' sixth straight game with at least 30 points and at least 50-percent shooting from the field.

But the rest of the Lakers struggled to get much going. Russell Westbrook (16 points) and Malik Monk (15) were the only other players to score in double figures for Los Angeles.

The Lakers can't keep wasting these standout performances by James. Los Angeles is now 1-5 during his hot streak. It's been a disappointing season for a team that entered the year considered to be among the favorites to compete for an NBA title.

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What's Next?

The Grizzlies will go for their fourth straight victory Friday against the San Antonio Spurs at FedEx Forum. The Lakers will return home to host the Portland Trail Blazers that same day.

With the Los Angeles Lakers roster ravaged with players in health and safety protocols and injured, LeBron James jokingly recruited a blast from the past to suit up.

James appeared on the Spectrum SportsNet postgame show after Tuesday's win over the Houston Rockets and said Metta Sandiford-Artest needs to "stay ready."

"Metta, stay ready cause we may need your ass, man," James said.

Sandiford-Artest, 42, last played with the Lakers during the 2016-17 season. While he didn't have a lot left in the tank a half-decade ago, NBA teams have gotten desperate as the Omicron variant rips through the league.

The Boston Celtics recently signed 40-year-old Joe Johnson to a hardship contract, so Sandiford-Artest would be far from the only old-timer making his way back into the league.

Los Angeles Lakers acting head coach David Fizdale marveled at LeBron James on Tuesday after the decorated superstar started at center in a much-needed 132-123 win over the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center.

According to ESPN's Dave McMenamin, Fizdale noted that he was thoroughly impressed by James, who was making his first start at center not only in his NBA career but also in his basketball-playing life:

I just told the team ... 'I don't think you guys realize what this guy just did.' He just played the 5 for four quarters and dominated at the position and played it while playing point guard, while playing [forward], he just ... Ah, my gosh, this guy is unbelievable.

I can't help it, man. We all are, we're very lucky as basketball people to get to watch what we're watching right now out of this man and it's just beautiful.

Fizdale, who is filling in as the Lakers' head coach while Frank Vogel is in COVID-19 protocols, said he received Vogel's permission to try LeBron at center amid L.A.'s five-game losing streak.

The decision paid major dividends, as James posted a triple-double with 32 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists. He also went 11-of-19 from the field and made three of his five three-point attempts.

Big Man Strength 💪

(📺: @SpectrumSN) pic.twitter.com/mXZFS7E1CZ

— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) December 29, 2021

James oftentimes went head-to-head with Rockets center Christian Wood, who finished with 22 points and six rebounds while also posting a minus-11 rating, which was tied for worst in the game.

While LeBron missed some time because of injury this season, he has played MVP-caliber basketball when healthy regardless of position, averaging 27.6 points, 7.0 rebounds and 6.1 assists in 23 contests.

James is always hugely important to the Lakers' success, but that is even truer now with Anthony Davis set to miss at least the next few weeks with a sprained MCL.

Tuesday's win helped the Lakers inch closer to .500 at 17-18, and they are in possession of the seventh seed in the Western Conference.

While it is a far cry from where a team with championship aspirations wants to be, Fizdale's unconventional coaching decision has Los Angeles back on track for now.

Whether it's at point guard, small forward or even center, there's no position on the court LeBron James can't dominate.

James got his first career start at the 5 in Tuesday's 132-123 win over the Houston Rockets, pouring in a 32-point, 11-rebound, 11-assist triple-double. 

"It's the evolution of the game,"  teammate Carmelo Anthony, who also played some minutes at 5, told reporters. "You have fives playing on the perimeter now. You got to adapt and you got to adjust, and you got to stay sharp, because if you don't, you'll get left behind."

Lakers acting coach David Fizdale chose to not play centers DeAndre Jordan and Dwight Howard in favor of slotting James at the 5 against a Rockets team that plays smaller with Christian Wood at center. James handled himself well on both ends of the floor, with the offense looking especially stellar when Anthony hopped on the floor at the 4.

"I think I've taken pride over the course of my career in being able to play five positions," James said. "Or at least know all five positions. Knowing the commands. So tonight ... called for me to start at center and I just tried to be in a hell of a lot of plays."

James is in the midst of a stellar run of basketball, despite the Lakers' struggles as a team. He became the oldest player in NBA history with five straight 30-point games Tuesday; he scored at least 20 points in all but one game he's played in the month of December. 

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James told reporters that he didn't have a response to Pro Basketball Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's criticism of a COVID-19 meme he posted on Instagram last Friday.

Harrison Faigen of Silver Screen & Roll relayed remarks James made following a question from The Athletic's Bill Oram after the Lakers' 132-123 road win over the Houston Rockets on Tuesday:

https://twitter.com/hmfaigen/status/1476052515326070788

The Spider-Man meme compares COVID-19 to the common cold and flu, and James posted it with the caption, "Help me out folks."

LeBron James drew a BIG reaction from fans when he posted this COVID-related meme on Instagram pic.twitter.com/aoYBnZjx4g

— Steve DelVecchio (@SteveDelSports) December 24, 2021

Abdul-Jabbar wrote an article on Substack in response, saying that James' use of the meme "was a blow to his worthy legacy."

He also wrote in part:

"To directly address LeBron’s confusion, no one thinks colds and the flu aren’t serious. In the 2019-2020 flu season, 400,000 people were hospitalized and 22,000 people died. In 2020, 385,428 people died of COVID-19, while so far in 2021, 423,558 have died in the U.S., for a total of 808,986 deaths. Experts agree that COVID-19 is at least 10 times more lethal than the flu. As for the common cold, death is extremely rare."

James' and Abdul-Jabbar's comments come amid a worldwide COVID-19 surge as the omicron variant continues to spread, as noted by the New York Times. The daily seven-day average on Tuesday was 267,305 cases, up from 83,365 one month prior.

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James became just the third player in NBA history to score more than 36,000 points during Tuesday's 132-123 win over the Houston Rockets.

He joins Hall of Famers Karl Malone and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar atop the list. 

Congratulations to LeBron James (@KingJames) of the @Lakers on becoming the third player in NBA history to eclipse 36,000 points scored 👑 pic.twitter.com/6OdM7Vk5dG

— NBA (@NBA) December 29, 2021

The closest active player to James is his teammate Carmelo Anthony, who is No. 9 on the list with 27,844 points. In addition, James is the youngest player to reach every round number milestone in points, according to ESPN Stats and Info. 

LeBron James reached 36K points on Tuesday. He's the youngest to reach every round number milestone in points: 1K, 2K, 3K, 4K, 5K, 6K, 7K, 8K, 9K, 10K, 11K, 12K, 13K, 14K, 15K, 16K, 17K, 18K, 19K, 20K, 21K, 22K, 23K, 24K, 25K, 26K, 27K, 28K, 29K, 30K, 31K, 32K, 33K, 34K, 35K, 36K pic.twitter.com/ZIVZZcjGXZ

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) December 29, 2021

James, who started Tuesday's game at center for the first time in his career, finished with 32 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in 39 minutes. It was his 102nd career triple-double. He started at the five because Anthony Davis is out at least four weeks with a knee sprain. 

Lakers assistant David Fizdale lauded James for his performance following the win.

"I don't think you guys realize what this guy just did," Fizdale told reporters. "He just played the five for four quarters and dominated at the position. ... This guy is unbelievable. I can't help it, man. We're very lucky as basketball people to get to watch what we're watching right now out of this man, and it's just beautiful." 

James, 36, has been one of the NBA's most consistent and efficient players since entering the league as the first overall pick in the 2003 draft. He spent the first seven seasons of his career with the Cleveland Cavaliers before joining the Miami Heat from 2010-14, where he won two NBA titles.

James returned to Cleveland from 2014-18 and led the Cavaliers to their first NBA championship in 2016. Then he signed with the Lakers before the 2018 season and led L.A. to its first title since 2010 in 2020. 

In total, James spent 11 seasons in Cleveland, where he scored 23,119 points, and in four seasons with the Heat, he scored 7,919 points. He has notched 4,963 points in his career with the Lakers. 

Thanks to James and Russell Westbrook, who also had a triple-double in Tuesday's win,  L.A.'s five-game losing streak has ended. The Lakers will try to keep the momentum going against the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday at FedExForum.  

The Los Angeles Lakers are back in the win column.

Finally.

Los Angeles defeated the Houston Rockets 132-123 in Tuesday's Western Conference showdown at Toyota Center. LeBron James, Malik Monk, Carmelo Anthony and Russell Westbrook led the way in a balanced effort for the victors, who snapped a five-game losing streak and improved to 17-18 on the campaign.

James and Westbrook finished with triple-doubles to help make up for the absence of Anthony Davis.

LeBron slams one over Christian Wood to secure the Lakers W 😤 https://t.co/ulfdJCTRsW

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 29, 2021

Jalen Green, Christian Wood and Kevin Porter Jr. played well in defeat for Houston, which fell to 10-25 with a fifth consecutive loss.

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Notable Player Stats

• LeBron James, F, LAL: 32 PTS, 11 REB, 11 AST, 2 BLK, 1 STL
• Russell Westbrook, G, LAL: 24 PTS, 12 REB, 10 AST, 2 STL, 7 TO
• Malik Monk, G, LAL: 25 PTS, 2 REB, 2 AST
• Carmelo Anthony, F, LAL: 24 PTS, 9 REB, 2 BLK
• Jalen Green, G, HOU: 24 PTS, 4 AST, 2 REB, 2 STL
• Christian Wood, C, HOU: 22 PTS, 6 REB, 3 AST, 3 STL
• Kevin Porter Jr., G, HOU: 22 PTS, 9 AST, 5 REB

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Offense Breaks Through for Slumping Lakers

The Lakers came into the season with championship-or-bust expectations, but they have looked like a team with the ceiling of a play-in tournament of late as they tumble down the standings.

Davis' knee injury certainly played a role in the recent losing streak, and the fact various role players are also sidelined means there is far more responsibility on the shoulders of James and Westbrook.

The pair carried the Lakers to a 67-59 halftime lead as the primary scorers and facilitators while also battling for rebounds. Yet it wasn't a solo effort, as Monk provided a much-needed scoring spark in his second game since Dec. 12. Throw in Anthony's contributions off the bench, and Los Angeles appeared primed to end its slide.

LeBron with the chase down 🔥 https://t.co/CyD78SAYE8

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 29, 2021

Lik off the launchpad! 💥 pic.twitter.com/1gi06GkleX

— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) December 29, 2021

Big Man Strength 💪

(📺: @SpectrumSN) pic.twitter.com/mXZFS7E1CZ

— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) December 29, 2021

Jalen Green throws it DOWN on Russ 😳 https://t.co/PYwoezZ91O

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 29, 2021

The supporting cast delivering on the offensive side was key because relying on veterans like James and Westbrook to do all the heavy lifting on a nightly basis is not a sustainable formula if the Lakers are going to battle with the best teams in the Western Conference come playoff time.

However, the defense was a problem Tuesday, which kept the Rockets within striking distance.

The Purple and Gold had no answer for Wood as a matchup nightmare who could extend his game beyond the arc and score down low against a short-handed Lakers' frontcourt. Throw in Porter and Green finding their stroke from deep, and the game was very much hanging in the balance in crunch time.

It wasn't just the shooting that stood out, as Porter handled the ball as Houston's main facilitator as his team kept the pressure on the Lakers on the offensive side. Green also caught fire from deep in the fourth quarter and helped the Rockets tie the game to set up a dramatic finish in the final minutes.

That was all the more notable since the visitors were the ones under the spotlight as they looked to snap their losing streak. 

Fortunately for Los Angeles fans, Anthony made a clutch three-pointer and James took over by attacking the lane and taking advantage of free-throw attempts after struggling on the line earlier in the game.

It took a night of offensive fireworks to overcome the defensive issues, but the Lakers managed to snap their losing streak against an overmatched opponent.                   

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What's Next?

The Lakers travel to face the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday, while the Rockets host the Miami Heat on Friday.

On Christmas Eve, LeBron James posted a meme on Instagram that compared COVID-19 to the flu and the common cold. 

LeBron James drew a BIG reaction from fans when he posted this COVID-related meme on Instagram pic.twitter.com/aoYBnZjx4g

— Steve DelVecchio (@SteveDelSports) December 24, 2021

On Monday, NBA Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar took issue with James' post in an article on his Substack. He wrote, in part:

LeBron James is not only one of the greatest basketball players ever, he’s committed to being a leader in the African American community in the fight against inequality. But his Thursday Instagram meme showing three cartoon Spider-Men pointing at each other—one labeled 'covid,' one labeled 'flu,' one labeled 'cold'—with his message: 'Help me out folks' was a blow to his worthy legacy.

Abdul-Jabbar wasn't done there:

To directly address LeBron’s confusion, no one thinks colds and the flu aren’t serious. In the 2019-2020 flu season, 400,000 people were hospitalized and 22,000 people died. In 2020, 385,428 people died of COVID-19, while so far in 2021, 423,558 have died in the U.S., for a total of 808,986 deaths. Experts agree that COVID-19 is at least 10 times more lethal than the flu. As for the common cold, death is extremely rare.

Abdul-Jabbar made several other points in his article.

He noted that "about 97.9 out of every 100,000 African Americans had died from COVID-19, a third higher than that for Latinos (64.7 per 100,000), and more than double than that for whites (46.6 per 100,000) and Asians (40.4 per 100,000)" and that vaccine hesitancy within the Black community can be attributed, at least in part, to memes like the one James shared. 

He added that one way to overcome that hesitancy was for prominent Black figures like James to promote vaccination. 

And Abdul-Jabbar wrote to the people who are "confident" that the symptoms of the omicron variant may not be as harsh as previous variants, the primary concern is still passing the coronavirus onto people who are more susceptible to serious illness, such as the elderly or the people with compromised immune systems. 

So while professional athletes like James, in peak physical shape, might end up with mild symptoms or be entirely asymptomatic if they come down with the omicron variant, the fear is still that they could pass it on if they aren't vigilant in self-isolation, masking, etc. 

And getting vaccinated will help save lives. As Abdul-Jabbar wrote, "The crucial statistic here is this: 98-99 percent of Americans dying of COVID-19 are unvaccinated."

The central point Abdul-Jabbar seems to be making to James is that a person of his stature has a responsibility to present facts when it comes to situations as serious as a pandemic, not memes. 

Or as he wrote: "While LeBron is a necessary and dynamic voice critical of police brutality against the Black community, he needs to be the same necessary and dynamic advocate with vaccines, which could save thousands of Black lives right now. The racism is just as real—and just as lethal—in both cases."

Los Angeles Lakers star Russell Westbrook brushed off criticism directed his way this season.

"Honestly, I think I've been fine," the nine-time All-Star told reporters Monday. "The conversation has been heavily on how I'm playing and what I'm doing, but I think people are expecting me to have f--king 25, 15 and 15, which, that is not normal. Everybody has to understand, like, that's not a normal thing that people do consistently."

Westbrook is right in the sense that he turned the exceptional into the norm by averaging a triple-double in three of the past four seasons. That can't continue forever.

Some of his numbers were bound to decline as he shared the ball with LeBron James and Anthony Davis too.

Having said that, the Lakers were probably counting on more from Westbrook to this point, especially since acquiring the 2016-17 MVP was general manager Rob Pelinka's last big roll of the dice to surround Davis and James with a championship-caliber roster.

Through 34 games, Westbrook is averaging 19.6 points, 7.9 rebounds and 8.1 assists. His drop in production isn't coinciding with improved scoring efficiency. He's shooting 45.1 percent from the field and 30.4 percent from beyond the arc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehQEr-JEtyc

To the extent on/off splits reveal anything, it isn't good that the Lakers are 4.6 points per 100 possessions better when the 33-year-old isn't on the floor, per NBA.com.

On Dec. 14, Bleacher Report's Jake Fischer reported the Lakers had already "held internal discussions on trade scenarios" revolving around Westbrook, another sign of how poorly the partnership has started.

Worth noting is how the dynamic guard has historically struggled the most around this time every year before finding his footing toward the business end of the season.

Per Basketball Reference, December (51.3) and January (51.7) are Westbrook's two worst months for true-shooting percentage. Conversely, February (54.9) and March (54.5) are his two best months. The difference is more stark when comparing his three-point percentage before (29.5) and after (32.2) the All-Star break.

The Lakers haven't even been at full strength for long portions of the season, with injuries ruling James and Davis out for stretches. That has hindered the process of Westbrook's adjustment to Los Angeles.

The Lakers are 16-18 and seventh in the Western Conference, which would mean once again having to qualify for the playoffs through the play-in tournament. It's easy to see why the general skepticism toward L.A. is so vociferous at the moment. 

If history is any indicator, though, the Westbrook problem may resolve itself as the year drags on.

Karl-Anthony Towns said he plays basketball to win games, not for what it'll say on the stat sheet.

Russell Westbrook, on the other hand, is a stat-chaser, according to Towns. 

“He definitely gets stats,” Towns said in an interview with streamer Adin Ross on Monday. “He chases stats. But I think he’s a hell of a player, though. I don’t care what anyone says—you know how hard it is to get a triple-double? You know how hard it is? And he play hella hard. I just think that sometimes he plays too quick. He tries to do too much.”

Westbrook is the NBA's all-time leader in triple-doubles with 190, and he's the only player in league history to average a triple-double in multiple seasons, doing so four times. While his propensity for filling up the stat sheet has him locked in as a future Hall of Famer, it hasn't always translated to deep playoff runs.

Westbrook has not gotten past the second round of the playoffs since Kevin Durant left Oklahoma City after the 2015-16 season. 

That being said, even Westbrook's stat-hungriest performance has led to more consistent winning results than Towns in Minnesota. The Wolves have made the playoffs just once in his career.

Once Westbrook catches wind of Towns' comments, it would be very fair of him to point at their respective career scoreboards.