By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Rui Hachimura scored 29 points on 5/6 threes, Austin Reaves added 23 making big plays in crunch time and the Lakers finished the night on a 15-0 run on the way to a 128-112 road win in Memphis in Game 1 of their Western Conference first round series.
The Japanese forward made the difference in the third quarter and Reaves finished the job in the fourth, while LeBron James had 21 points and 11 rebounds and Anthony Davies 22 points, 12 rebounds and seven blocks.
German guard Dennis Schroder added seven points and four assists in what was an impressive team effort by the Lakers.
The Grizzlies got a big game by Jaren Jackson junior with 31 points, by lost in the closing minutes of the game Ja Morant with a wrist injury. Before that Morant had scored 18 points, Desmond Bane finished the night with 22 and Spanish forward Santi Aldama added eight points, six rebounds and two assists.
The Lakers entered the playoffs after surviving the play-in test and getting the 7th seed in the West, but they have already turned the tables against the Grizzlies.