Lakers Get Historic Start, Overcome Dillon Brooks’ Punch to LeBron James For 2-1 Series Lead

Seventeen seconds into the third quarter of the Lakers’ 111-101 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series, LeBron James was lying on the Crypto.com Arena court writhing in pain and Dillon Brooks was soon on his way to the locker room.

Up to that point, their contentious matchup had been mostly just talk, and mostly coming from Brooks. James said he didn’t have time for the nonsense after Brooks had called him old and indicated he had no respect for anyone who hadn’t scored 40 points against him during his career.

But then, as James dribbled the ball up the court in the opening seconds of the second half, Brooks punched the leading scorer in NBA history in the groin. After a brief review by the game’s officials, Brooks was assessed a flagrant-2 foul and ejected after scoring seven points on 3-for-13 shooting.

James remained in the game, helping to lead the Lakers to a wire-to-wire victory and a 2-1 series lead. Anthony Davis scored 31 points on 11-for-24 shooting and grabbed 17 rebounds. James scored 25 points on 10-for-20 shooting and Rui Hachimura scored 16 points in another strong effort off the bench as the Lakers built a 29-point first-half lead and never trailed.

Game 4 is Monday night at Crypto.com Arena.

“Me? The kind of statement I made?” James said, quizzically repeating a reporter’s question. “I’ve been doing this too long. I don’t make statements. We had an opportunity to come home and play well on our home floor, and we did that. No statements made. We just wanted to play well and we got a win.”

Asked about Brooks’ lack of respect, James said, “At the end of the day, I think my resume and what I’ve done for this league speaks for itself. I don’t really get caught up in any comments like that. My focus is on my teammates and how we can figure out a way to beat the Memphis Grizzlies, not how I can beat an individual or a team. If anybody knows me, they should know that’s what I’ve always been about.”

Brooks left the arena without speaking to reporters.

“Officials made a call,” Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said of Brooks’ ejection.

Ja Morant led the Grizzlies with 45 points, including 24 on 9-for-12 shooting in the fourth quarter, preventing Game 3 from turning into a farce. Desmond Bane had 18 points and Jaren Jackson Jr. had 13 points for the Grizzlies, who shot themselves out of the game during a dismal first quarter.

“That boy’s good,” James said of Morant, who went on a 22-point scoring binge at one point in the final quarter and finished one rebound shy of a triple-double (13 assists). “I mean, he’s good. I mean, he’s so good at attacking the rim that you want to try to keep bodies in front of him and make him live on the perimeter. Well, tonight, he made six 3-pointers.”

The Lakers settled matters with an electric start in the first playoff game with a capacity crowd in their home arena in a decade. A sellout of 18,997 was in full voice well before the opening tip and didn’t let up, igniting the Lakers’ surge to an 18-2 lead less than six minutes into the game.

The Lakers’ 35-9 lead by the end of the first quarter was tied for the largest in NBA playoff history, and it was the franchise’s biggest postseason lead after a quarter since they led the Boston Celtics by 21 points on June 12, 2008. They ended up losing Game 4 of the Finals despite their massive early lead.

The Grizzlies did themselves no favors in the first quarter. They missed 22 of 25 shots, including 12 of 13 from behind the 3-point arc, and had six turnovers that the Lakers turned into 10 points. The Lakers made 14 of their first 27 shots and seemed poised to deliver a beatdown.

No question, Brooks talked a good game after the Grizzlies’ victory in Game 2 tied the best-of-7 series at one victory apiece. But he didn’t play a good one to start Game 3, delighting the Lakers’ crowd with one miss after another. He would miss his first five shots before scoring on a drive.

Lakers fans booed Brooks during his pregame warmup, during the pregame introductions of the starting lineups and every time he handled the ball. They cheered wildly when his shots ricocheted off the rim and backboard and into the hands of waiting Laker rebounders.

The fans were in an uproar when a replay of Brooks’ punch was shown on the arena’s giant overhanging scoreboard. They turned their thunderous boos into cheers when his ejection was announced and he departed the court, his role as the Grizzlies’ top agitator having gotten the best of him.

After a few moments, James rose to his feet and continued to play his game.

“I think it’s been great, man,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said of James’ reaction to Brooks’ comments and actions. “He’s a consummate professional. He doesn’t get caught up in the war of words. He just goes out and speaks with his actions and speaks with his play. His leadership with the group has been – it’s not like he’s not saying nothing to you guys and then talking to us.

“He’s just been focused throughout and that’s the way we need him to be. Again, it’s not about the mano-a-mano matchup within a team sport. You’ve got to go out and make the right plays, Simple as that.”

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