LeBron James dominates; leads Lakers past Grizzlies

LOS ANGELES, CA - When LeBron James got back to the Lakers changing room after his dominant performance, his teammates serenated him with Goat noises.

LeBron's teammates were giving LeBron an ovation, saluting the GOAT in his own language to celebrate a vintage LeBron James performance. A vintage performance that pushed LA to the brink of the second round of Western Conference Playoffs.

LeBron sunk the go ahead lay up with 0.8 left in regulation to send the game to overtime. In overtime, LeBron James would take over the game scoring, 4 of his 22 points in the overtime period, leading the Lakers to a 3-1 lead in their first-round playoff series with a 117-111 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night.

The 38-Year-old LeBron James also grabbed 20 rebounds, a playoff career high. The first Laker to record 30+ points and 20 rebounds in the playoffs for the Lakers since Shaquille O'Neal. The game was LeBron's first 20-20 game of his 20-year career. James also added seven assists and two blocked shots while committing just one turnover in his record 270th playoff game.

LeBron James talked about his record setting performance after, “I just try to be as great as I can be offensively, but more importantly on the defensive end,” James said. “That was the mindset tonight. I was able to make a couple of plays. … My teammates told me I had 20 and 20. It's the first time I've done it in my career, so that's pretty cool, I guess.”

James despite instigating from Memphis player Dillon Brooks, has not responded to Brooks calling him "old" following Game 2 last week, but LeBron's performances continues to make the Grizzlies' agitator look like a fool/ LeBron's performances have also put the second-seeded Grizzlies on the brink of first-round elimination. This would be the second straight year where the Grizzlies would fall out of the post season early.

The Lakers secondary options were on display as well, Austin Reaves added 23 points, and Anthony Davis scored 12 but his 5 in overtime were the most important for LA. Reaves and Davis helped LA get closer to securing their first playoff series outside of the Orlando bubble since 2012.

Anthony Davis praised his Laker teammate post-game, “He just took over down the stretch,” Davis said of James. “Got us a bucket to get to overtime. ... All our guys, it was a good team effort. This team is not going to go away.”

With 3 straight clutch threes late in the 4th quarter from D'Angelo Russell, LA would seea 7-point deficit. The Lakers would then later force the game into overtime thanks to a clutch bucket from LeBron James to force the game into overtime. The Lakers led the grizzlies for the whole duration of the overtime period.

Coach Darvin Ham was quick to praise his team's effort, “I'm so proud of our guys, the way we fought,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. “We found a way.”

The Lakers will play The Memphis Grizzlies on April 26th at 7:30 PM as they look to secure their spot in the next round of the Western Conference NBA playoffs. Game 5 is at 7:30 Live on TNT. The Lakers will be in the second round for the first time since their championship run in the Orlando bubble back in 2020.

Desmond Bane who went scoreless in overtime scored 36 in regulation who will rally from 3-1 down, Bane's production was great in the 4th but failed to score in the extra period, missing his only 2 shots.

Taylor Jenkins spoke on the game in the post game, “Obviously, LeBron gets to his right hand, which can’t happen at the end of the game,” Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said. “Some breakdowns for us. Very disappointing loss.”

Ja Morant who missed game 2 with a hand injury, would drop 19 in the loss, Anthony Davis would block Ja's potential game winner right before overtime. A predecessor to his overtime period, as Ja was non-existent with 2 turnovers, and crucial turnovers at that.

Dillion Brooks added 11 points in a game where all eyes were on Brooks once again after striking LeBron in the groin in game 3 and in return was ejected. Brooks let LeBron score all over him the whole game, maybe by now Brooks will learn to not call LeBron James "Old".

The Lakers side pieces as well contributed very well, Austin Reaves and Dennis combined for 35 points. Reaves continued his red hot form as the Lakers got their ' 12th win in 15 games dating back to the regular season.

The Lakers were trailing for the majority of the second half after blowing a 15 point lead earlier in the game, as Anthony Davis didn't have the best game offensively. However, for what he lacked offensively he made up for it on the defensive side of the ball.

LeBron James, once again showed us that age is solely just a number. James' took over the game late in the 4th quarter and into overtime, LeBron is once again leading one of his teams in the playoffs. LeBron added to his GOAT legacy once again in game 4, he added another unforgettable memory in the forward's storied career.