LeBron’s Lakers beat Grizzlies 111-101, take 2-1 series lead

LOSANGELES—Anthony Davis had 31 points and 17rebounds, LeBron James finished with 25 points after Dillon Brookswas ejected for striking him in the groin, and the Los AngelesLakers survived Ja Morant’s 24-point fourth quarter to beat theMemphis Grizzlies 111-101 Saturday night for a 2-1 lead in theirfirst-round playoff series.

Morant scored 45 points in his return from a one-game absencewith a sore right hand, even scoring 22 consecutive points duringhis stunning fourth quarter while Memphis attempted to rally froman early 29-point deficit. Morant also had 13 assists and ninerebounds, but the second-seeded Grizzlies couldn’t come all the wayback after scoring a franchise-low nine points in the firstquarter.

Rui Hachimura scored 16 points in another strong effort off thebench for the seventh-seeded Lakers, who came out impressively intheir first home playoff game with a capacity crowd in 10 years.Los Angeles tied an NBA record by taking a 26-point lead into thesecond quarter, and Memphis couldn’t get closer than 13 pointsuntil the final two minutes.

Game 4 is Monday night in Los Angeles.

Brooks was ejected 17 seconds into the second half after theMemphis agitator struck James in the groin while guarding him nearmidcourt. While the top scorer in NBA history rolled on the courtin pain, officials tossed Brooks after a brief video review.

With the Lakers’ sellout crowd booing his every move, Brooks hadjust seven points on 3-for-13 shooting before his ejection. He drewthe Lakers fans’ ire for his behavior during and after Game 2, whenthe 27-year-old Brooks called the 38-year-old James “old” andbelittled James’ abilities.