Luka Doncic and LeBron James lead the Lakers’ comeback to beat the Grizzlies again

They met two days before Sunday night’s matchup at Crypto.com Arena, a two-game series between the Lakers and Memphis Grizzlies that resembles a playoff series.

The Lakers won their first game here Friday night and knew the Grizzlies would bring more intensity and a greater effort even with star guard Ja Morant (right calf contusion) not in the game.

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And so it was, the Lakers fell behind by 16 points in the second quarter, the Grizzlies accelerated in a big way. But with Luka Doncic, LeBron James and Jake LaRavia leading the way, the Lakers rolled to a 120-114 win and improved to 12-0 in big games.

“They played some great basketball in the first half when we knew we were going to make their best shot, especially after the playoff-type format,” said LeBron James, who had 26 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds. “The team always makes adjustments for the next game, better prepared. So, I think it wasn’t until the second half, that we started to crack the code a little bit. We were able to take the lead into the third. They pulled away again a little bit, but we kept at it and were able to have a great fourth quarter.”

Doncic came close to a triple-double with 36 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. LaRavia, starting in the absence of Rui Hachimura, scored 26 points, five rebounds and four assists. It was the second straight time that LaRavia, who came in averaging 9.1 points, scored more than 20 points. His defense was also good again, another sign of LaRavia’s development and the role he was able to fill for the Lakers.

“I feel like I’m a player where when you tell me the things you want me to do, I go out there and do them,” said LaRavia, who was nine of 16 from the field and four of 10 from 3-point range. “I’ve had a lot of conversations with (Lakers coach) JJ (Redick), with (Lakers assistant) coach Beau (Levesque) and they tell me what they want me to do out there and I just go out there and try my best to do it every game. Shots don’t fall every game, but I can control the effort I put in a game, falling every time. I know they talk about offensive drop rate. I’m just trying to do that every night and just bring energy to this team.”

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The game went back and forth in the fourth quarter, with the Lakers and Grizzlies taking turns in tense moments. The Lakers finally take the lead at 100-99 on a basket by Doncic.

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Then James scored on a three-point play and made one of two free throws for a 104-99 lead with 3 minutes, 49 seconds left.

The Lakers (22-11) had an answer for every Grizzlies fast break, the final stamp on the game being Doncic’s back-to-back 3-pointers for a nine-point lead with 2:01 left.

So, the Lakers passed the test the NBA put in front of them by scheduling a game against the Grizzlies here Friday night and then again at home Sunday night.

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“I like it,” Redick said. “I think it replicates [the playoffs] somehow. A playoff series, particularly when it’s not a home-and-away situation, but most of you play a two-game series on someone’s home court for the day in between. I had a few last year. So, I like this for our team and it’s a good growth opportunity. Coming off a win, knowing there’s a lot of things we can improve on and where we can get better. This is the big challenge for me.”

For Redick, that meant what he always does for the Lakers: improve the defense.

They held the Grizzlies to 42% shooting and 24.4% from three-point range.

The Lakers also wanted to bring center Deandre Ayton back from a five-game slump.

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Ayton had just four points in a two-of-four effort against the Grizzlies on Friday night and hadn’t scored more than 12 points in that span.

So, the Lakers turned to Ayton early, trying to ignite his game. It worked to some extent, Ayton scored 15 points, grabbed eight rebounds and blocked three shots.

“I trust my teammates so much and they’re generational players, so I really try not to clog their brains with just me or focus on me,” said Ayton, who was six of eight from the field. “It’s more like I want to crash the backboard early and move on. But I just appreciate them getting in the spots where I got the lead and that’s all I can really worry about. It’s really me not getting frustrated. It’s more how I dominate. I don’t really care about a play for me or the touches. It’s the rhythm of the basketball game that keeps me in the flow and keeps me going.”

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This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.