Lakers answer Redick's challenge, top Grizzlies

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- With his Los Angeles Lakers looking to salvage some momentum on their four-game road trip that featured a gut-punch loss on a halfcourt buzzer beater by the Chicago Bulls, coach JJ Redick gathered LeBron James, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves for a meeting in Memphis on Saturday morning.

"We challenged all three of them when we get to their three-man actions to play with a little more force and a little more thrust and a little more creativity," Redick said of his message.

The trio responded by combining to score 85 points and dish out 25 assists in Los Angeles' 134-127 win over the Memphis Grizzlies. The three of them were responsible for generating 120 of Los Angeles' points.

"We played as well as we've played so far, offensively," Redick said.

Reaves led all scorers with 31 points on 8-for-16 shooting (5-of-8 on 3-pointers), adding eight assists and seven rebounds. Doncic scored 29, with nine assists and eight rebounds. James scored 25 with eight assists and six rebounds -- his most points since returning from a two-week absence because of a strained left groin.

"I think the meeting was just still trying to build that chemistry amongst the three of us to help the team be successful," Reaves said. "Tonight it just showed that when we play the right way and trust one another, especially offensively, we can have open looks on almost every possession. ... It was really just a conversation about how bad all of us want to win and win at a high level."

As a team, Los Angeles shot 50.6% overall and 44.2% on 3-pointers, hitting 19-for-43 from the outside.

Seven of those 3s came from bench players in Gabe Vincent (4-of-6) and Dorian Finney-Smith (3-of-7).

"The ball was flying around because of the advantages and [James, Doncic and Reaves] getting into the paint," Finney-Smith said. "Me, Gabe, Rui [Hachimura], [Jarred Vanderbilt], just recipients of them playing well."

The Lakers' approach from the start, with James dunking on and taking a charge from the Grizzlies' 7-4, 305 pound rookie center Zach Edey in the first quarter, showed that the Lakers were ready to put the nightmarish end to their game in Chicago behind them.

"He was an incredible leader tonight," Redick said of James. "And it was early. It was throughout the game. When we got down, I challenged the group in a timeout and he was as vocal as he's been since he got back from injury. And that galvanized the group. ... I think if he doesn't say what he said in the timeout, we probably don't win the game."

"It was the first time I've heard him yell in a while," Reaves said of James' timeout address. "It was refreshing, to be honest. I loved it."

Redick might not have shouted, but before the Memphis game he checked in with his team, too, after the Bulls handed them their eighth loss in their previous 12 games. He wanted to remind them of what they're capable of, with the consequences of those losses compounding themselves with the regular season winding down and playoff seeding up for grabs.

"I'm not surprised at how hard we played and how well we played tonight," Redick said. "I made sure the group knew that I believed still, and that the coaching staff believed and they were resolute in their belief in this team."

The win kept the Lakers (45-29) in No. 4 in the Western Conference standings, creating a full game of separation between them and No. 5 Memphis, while also earning the tiebreaker by winning their season series.

All eight games remaining for Los Angeles are against West opponents, starting with a three-game homestand versus Houston, Golden State and New Orleans this week.

"I think this was a big game for us in the sense of how we lost the other night. We hadn't been playing great," Reaves said. "So, coming into this game, it was obviously high intensity. It's hard, the last game on a road trip because you're pretty excited to go home. But for that three hours or whatever the game is, you got to lock in and try to put your best foot forward and win."