MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Luka Doncic had 44 points, 12 rebounds and six assists in his return after a three-game absence and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Memphis Grizzlies 117-112 on Friday night in the opening game of the NBA Cup for each team.
Austin Reaves added 21 points for the Lakers and Jake LaRavia scored 13. It was Doncic's 11th straight games of scoring at least 25 against the Grizzlies.
Jock Landale and Jaylen Wells scored 16 points each to lead Memphis and Jaren Jackson Jr. finished with 15 points. Ja Morant was held to eight points — going 3 of 14 from the field — and seven assists.
The Lakers continued to play without LeBron James, who is dealing with right sciatica. But Doncic, who missed the last three games with a left finger sprain and a lower left leg contusion, returned to the starting lineup.
Both teams had significant runs before it settled into a closely played game. Memphis' rally came in the second quarter and the Lakers answered it in the third before pulling away in the fourth.
The Grizzlies built a double-digit lead in the second quarter while scoring 42 points, including a 27-4 rally in the closing minutes of the half. That gave them a 69-55 lead at the break.
But the Lakers with Doncic controlling the offense, sliced away at the Memphis advantage in the second half, erasing the deficit in the first seven minutes of the third. That led to an exchange of leads as Doncic had 16 in the quarter.
Entering the fourth, there had been 14 lead changes and seven ties.
Lakers: Host Miami on Sunday.
Grizzlies: Visit Toronto on Sunday.
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
Murder for Two Read moreMurder For Two
Much Ado About Nothing: A Modern Verse Translation, tells the timeless and hilarious story o… Read moreMills High School Much Ado About Nothing: A Modern Translation
Dirk van Ulden said:
Jay - "all of which are hallmarks of our current ruler(s)." Current and past? Where to draw the line? You fell into your own propaganda trap.
Dirk van Ulden said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.