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Lakers lose Game 5 as Grizzlies stay alive in series

The Lakers still lead the best-of-seven series at 3-2 against the Grizzlies.

Lakers couldn’t get it done and the Grizzlies held serve.

Memphis had a huge run at the end of the third quarter and the start of the fourth. Grizzlies stayed alive against the Lakers with a Game 5 win, 116-99.

Desmond Bane continued his work from Game 4. He and Luke Kennard scored 10 straight to end the first quarter. Memphis led, 38-24, after one.

And the Grizzlies kept piling on. Back-to-back threes by Bane and Dillon Brooks put the lead up to 56-39. But the Lakers countered back with an 8-0 run. They would stay within reach by halftime, 61-52.

D’Angelo Russell had another quick burst to start the quarter. They cut the deficit to 61-60. They would continue to keep up with Memphis and they threatened to take the lead with about four minutes left in the third quarter.

It was not to be. The Grizzlies electrified their home crowd with a massive 26-2 run that carried over to the fourth quarter. The “third quarter Lakers” came at the wrong time.

Yes, there was a period of time where Memphis couldn’t convert anything. But the Lakers also looked gassed themselves as they tried to have a huge run of their own. L.A. never got closer than a dozen points. They waved the white flag and this series is going back to Hollywood on Friday night.

Anthony Davis did what he could. This was the game we expected out of him. But he didn’t get much help on Wednesday night. Felt like LeBron James settled for too many ill-advised threes; he probably thought he could get by with shooting as he looked a bit fatigued. The backcourt starters didn’t shoot well for the Lakers, either.

As for the Grizzlies, they were carried by Bane and Ja Morant. Jaren Jackson, Jr. also did his job on both ends. No one else scored double figures but Luke Kennard and Xavier Tillman hit some timely shots. Dillon Brooks has continued to struggle.

The problem is that the Lakers won’t get that much time off. They’re going to do this again on Friday night. The good news, though, is that the game is going to be in L.A. and being in front of the hometown crowd is something the Lakers can feed off from. Memphis did that on Wednesday; let’s see if the Lakers can do that for Game 6. For all intents and purposes, the Lakers didn’t play all that bad; they just missed a lot of shots.

Anthony Davis went for 31 points and 19 rebounds. Austin Reaves ended with 17-8-6. LeBron James shot 5 for 17 (1 for 9 from three) and ended with 15-10-5. On the other side, Desmond Bane had his second consecutive game with 30+ points (33) to go along with 10 boards and 5 dimes. Ja Morant had 31 points, 10 boards, and 7 assists. Jaren Jackson, Jr. had 18 points and 10 rebounds.

The Lakers will get another shot at closing the series on Friday night. This is their best shot because if they lose this one, Game 7 will be back in Memphis. And I really doubt the Lakers want to spend another weekend in Tennessee.