LeBron James jogged backward down the near sideline, his lips pursed together after another jumper rattled in and bounced out.
James and the Lakers were getting avalanched, a run to undo a 17-point deficit got them to within a point before the Grizzlies smothered them with a barrage of baskets.
Desmond Bane, the guy the Lakers couldn’t stop in Game 4, stayed hot. Ja Morant, the guy the Lakers couldn’t stop in Game 2, attacked the Lakers and told them they were “too small.”
And James, the player that saved the Lakers at the end of regulation and in overtime Monday, couldn’t make a positive imprint in his first chance to close out the Grizzlies n the first round of the NBA playoffs.
Memphis beat the Lakers 116-99 on their home floor Wednesday, extending the series to a sixth game Friday night in Los Angeles.
Bane scored 33 and Morant had 31 points for Memphis.
James made only five of his 17 shots and just one of nine from three-point range. He turned the ball over five times in the loss.
The Lakers were within a signle point midway through the third when Anthony Davis went to the bench. Memphis quickly scored seven -straight points to begin a 26-2 run that sealed the game.
Davis finished with 31 points and 19 rebounds, but the Lakers never got closer than 12 in the fourth.
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