Memphis Grizzlies fails to recover from early lead of Lakers

LeBron James scored 20 points and Jason Hart and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope each made four 3-pointers as the Lakers built up a big lead early on Saturday and cruised to a 111-88 road victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.

James finished with eight rebounds, nine assists and a thunderous third-period dunk that halted any hopes the Grizzlies might have had about making a big comeback.

The Lakers connected on 16 3-pointers for the game.

Los Angeles opened up a 68-40 lead early in the third when the Grizzlies went on a 12-0 run. Caldwell-Pope ended the Lakers drought with a 3, but Memphis whittled the deficit to 17 at 73-56 on a pair of Garrett Temple free throws.

But Caldwell-Pope again answered with a 23-foot, 3-pointer putting the Lakers back up 20 and igniting an 11-0 run and an 84-56 Los Angeles lead.

Caldwell-Pope finished with 16 points off the bench. Hart added 16 and Kyle Kuzma, who scored 27 in Friday's loss to San Antonio, tossed in 20 points, grabbed nine rebounds and dished out six assists.

Lonzo Ball had a night to forget. In 23 minutes of play, he made 2-of-9 from the field, was 0-for-5 from 3-point range and committed three turnovers.

Wayne Selden led the Grizzlies with 17 points off the bench. Mike Conley and Marc Gasol were non-factors, scoring 12 and 11 points, respectively.

Both teams were playing the second game of a back-to-back and it was the Grizzlies who played as if they were stuck in the mud.

It took the Lakers about five minutes to find their groove and when they did the Grizzlies didn't stand a chance.

JaVale McGee's 18-foot jumper put the Lakers up 8-7 at the 7:09 mark of the first and Los Angeles was off and running.

A James dunk, two free throws from Tyson Chandler and a 3-pointer from Caldwell-Pope and all of a sudden the Lakers had a nine-point lead.

Los Angeles held Memphis to 16 first-quarter points. The Grizzlies shot an atrocious 26.1 per cent from the field (7-for-24) and made just 2 of 13 from beyond the arc.

The Lakers dominated the Grizzlies on the glass, 36-11 in the first half with 14 of those coming on the offensive side. For the game, Los Angeles held a 57-36 advantage on the boards.