Morant, Grizzlies surge in second half to top Lakers
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Ja Morant scored 41 points, Desmond Bane added 20, and the Memphis Grizzlies overcame a 14-point second-half deficit to beat the Los Angeles Lakers 104-99 on Wednesday.
Lebron James hit eight 3-pointers while leading Los Angeles with 37 points — a day short of his 38th birthday — and added 13 rebounds. Russell Westbrook had 16 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds for the Lakers.
The Grizzlies (22-14) notched their third straight win and dealt Los Angeles (17-19) its sixth loss in seven games.
Memphis trailed in the second half until Tyus Jones hit in a floater for a 9392 lead with 6:50 left.
■ Jazz 120, Trail Blazers 105: At Portland, Ore., Rudy Gobert had 22 points and 14 rebounds for Utah, which shot 52.9 in its fifth straight win. Norman Powell and Damian Lillard each scored 32 points for Portland in its third loss in a row.
■ Kings 95, Mavericks 94: At Sacramento, Calif., Chimezie Metu hit a game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer and was one of six double-figure scorers for Sacramento with 11 points. Jalen Brunson had 25 points and Kristaps Porzingis 24 for Dallas.
■ Suns 115, Thunder 97: At Phoenix, Devin Booker scored 38 points on 12-for24 shooting to surpass 10,000 points for Phoenix (27-7), which halted a two-game skid and tied Golden State for the league’s top record.
■ Bulls 131, Hawks 117: At Chicago, Zach Lavine scored 25 points for Chicago, which shot 61.9 percent with a seasonhigh 38 assists in its fifth straight win. Atlanta was without 15 players because of COVID-19 protocol.
■ Hornets 116, Pacers 108: At Indianapolis, Terry Rozier had 35 points and Lamelo Ball 21 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists for Charlotte in its third straight win. Indiana didn’t lead after the first quarter.
■ Knicks 94, Pistons 85: At Detroit, reserve Alec Burks scored 34 points for New York, which got 65 points from backups. Saddiq Bey had 32 points and Hamidou Diallo 31 for Detroit in its fourth straight loss.
■ Clippers 91, Celtics 82: At Boston, Marcus Morris scored 23 points for Los Angeles, which halted a two-game skid and capped a season sweep of Boston. The Celtics missed 38 of 42 3-point tries.