Luka Doncic flirted with a triple-double with 36 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, LeBron James added 26 points with 10 assists and the Los Angeles Lakers swept a two-game set against the visiting Memphis Grizzlies by rallying for a 120-114 victory on Sunday.
Jake LaRavia also scored 26 points and Deandre Ayton added 15 as the Lakers followed a 128-121 victory over the Grizzlies on Friday with another Sunday to win consecutive games for the first time since Dec. 14-18.
Los Angeles is just 3-4 since Dec. 20.
Jaylen Wells scored 23 points for the Grizzlies, while Cedric Coward added 16 points with eight rebounds in the first half. The rookie did not play after halftime because of an ankle injury.
Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 14 points, Jock Landale added 13 and 10 rebounds and Santi Aldama had 12 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists off the bench for Memphis, which dropped its fourth consecutive game. It is the Grizzlies’ longest losing streak since a five-game drought from Nov. 9-18.
Memphis led 85-74 with 2:58 remaining in the third quarter before Los Angeles started to make a charge. Doncic scored the next five Lakers points and Los Angeles was within 87-83 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Lakers used a 14-4 run to storm out to a 112-103 lead with 2:08 remaining after a 3-pointer from Doncic, his second consecutive make from distance.
Los Angeles sealed the victory on an alley-oop dunk from Jarred Vanderbilt off a Doncic pass for a 114-106 lead with 1:24 left on the clock.
The Grizzlies led by as many as 16 points in the first half and were up 65-54 at the break with a 29-18 rebounding advantage and a 34-22 edge with points in the paint. Coward excelled before leaving with 2:59 left in the first half for Memphis, while Doncic led the Lakers with 19 points.
The Lakers’ victory was shades of an Oct. 31 win at Memphis when they trailed by 15 in the first half before earning a 117-112 win.
