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Darvin Ham got his chance early Friday night to make a statement. Two hours later, it was the Lakers’ turn.
Facing what could be called a midseason crisis, the Lakers needed to approach Friday with the kind of attention and force the moment demanded, a chance to end a losing streak before hosting the red-hot Clippers on Sunday.
But instead of failing to meet the moment with effort, the Lakers, in some ways just as they did against the Miami Heat on Wednesday, failed to meet the moment with competency, replacing turnovers and bricks for slow closeouts on shooters and panicked late-game offense.
“We just suck right now,” LeBron James said.
As Desmond Bane and Marcus Smart swished home dagger three-pointers, boos and murmurs replaced the early energy the Lakers helped ignite.
James hit his first four threes in the first quarter, skipping his way across the court to celebrate. Anthony Davis roared and muscled his way to 31 points. And Austin Reaves had 19 points and a career-best 12 assists.
But as the Lakers’ offense stalled — one of the worst in the league will do that from time to time — Memphis got hot and stayed hot. The Grizzlies made 23 threes — the most given up by the Lakers this season.
“We’ve got to do better as players to affect them to miss shots,” Reaves said. “… We have to take it upon ourselves to do better.”
Entering the game, Memphis was the worst shooting team in the NBA. The Grizzlies shot 51.1% from the field Friday as the Lakers went under screens and trudged into closeouts.
The Lakers’ timidity late didn’t match Ham’s defiance early.
“They shot the hell out of the ball,” Ham said of the Grizzlies.
Before the game, amid external scrutiny about his job performance, the Lakers’ coach said he felt affirmed about his standing with the organization.
“It comes with the territory. I’m solid,” Ham said. “My governor, J
