Anthony Davis had 27 points and 10 rebounds, and the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers went on an 18-6 run in the fourth quarter to beat the Memphis Grizzlies 94-92 for their fourth straight win.
The Grizzlies led 77-74 with 5:59 left in the fourth quarter. Davis’ corner 3-pointer put the Lakers ahead for good with 4:22 left. He and LeBron James scored 8 points each during the run, and they led 92-83 with 31 seconds left.
Dillon Brooks’ corner 3-pointer made it 94-92 with 1.7 seconds left.
During clutch time, the Lakers outscored the Grizzlies 14-9. Davis scored 6 of the Lakers’ 14 on 2 for 4 shooting and 1 for 1 at the line. In the fourth quarter, James had 4 of his 7 assists, 1 of them on a basket by Dennis Schröder that tied the game. In that stretch, Davis had 2 of his 3 steals, both with the game within five points, and the Lakers scored 4 points off them.
James had 26 points, 12 rebounds and 7 assists, and Schröder added 11 points and 6 assists but shot 5 for 15.
For the Grizzlies, Gorgui Dieng scored 13 points (9 in the first quarter) on 6 for 8 shooting off the bench.
The Grizzlies outscored the Lakers 19-4 in 5 minutes with Dieng, Allen, Melton, Tillman and Bane on the floor together.