Marc Gasol went down with a left ankle injury in the third quarter, but Memphis kept it together and got the relatively easy win in Sacramento Saturday night, 112-98.
Mike Conley led the way with a team-high 22 points on 8-of-11 shooting along with eight dimes and three triples. JaMychal Green, meanwhile, filled up the stat sheet, pouring in 18 points, seven rebounds and four assists for the Grizzlies, who now gear up for the second game of a four-game road trip versus a Lakers team that’s lost eight of its last 10 games, including the previous three.
The Grizzlies also defeated LA earlier this season at Memphis, 103-100, and that was a game where they didn’t have Conley, who was still nursing an injured back at the time. The Grizzles received an unexpected 31-point outburst from Troy Daniels off the bench there while Gasol and Green racked up 19 and 16 points, respectively.
Gasol, however, is questionable for tonight’s game at Staples Center, which should suggest big-time outputs from Conley, Green and Zach Randolph, who’s contributed 13 or more points in the last five games.
Memphis is 6-4 SU and 5-5 ATS in its last 10 road games.
Sunday night’s 123-114 loss against a visiting Toronto squad was another manifestation of the Lakers’ current struggles.
Luke Walton’s troops held a 12-point lead at some point in the first half, but eventually squandered it way because of their overall defense that basically had no answers for Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, who went off for 41 and 31 points, respectively.
LA also wasted a pair of 20-point performances from its starting backcourt in D’Angelo Russell (28) and Nick Young (26). Both were also scorching from down town with 13 three-pointers combined, with seven all coming from the latter.
The Lakers defense is surrendering 110.4 points this season, including 101 or more points in the last eight games. That’s a stretch in which they’ve only won once—against a shorthanded Clippers team on Christmas Day—but have managed to stay competitive in every game thanks to a bench that’s averaging a league-best 49.2 points per game.
Los Angeles is 5-5 ATS in its last 10 games overall.
Writer’s Prediction
And once again the Lakers keep it close, only to find themselves on the losing side against a more-experienced and proven Memphis team. The Grizzlies fail to cover, though.
