LeBron James glared at the Lakers bench, another chance squandered, another run from the Grizzlies delivered.
There wasn’t much else he could do Wednesday night on the final game of the Lakers’ first road trip. He’d attacked mismatches. He’d swished home triples. He fought like hell with Memphis’ giant front line.
His team was short-handed. Anthony Davis’ heel contusion, an injury he suffered Monday in Detroit, kept him out of action. An illness did the same to Rui Hachimura.
Unlike the losses in Cleveland and Detroit that ensured this trip would be a clunker, this wasn’t about fight. The Lakers had shown up for that.
But as his team saw a two-point deficit turn to a 11-point deficit after Memphis his three straight threes, James looked at the bench.
Read more: Anthony Davis unsure if lingering foot injury will continue to hamper him
It wasn’t anger. It was exasperation. The Lakers were going to eventually lose 131-114, and he couldn’t stop it.
James was terrific — he scored 39 points, made six threes and played with force. His team did too. They just couldn’t make any shots.
D’Angelo Russell put his hands to his head in disbelief as one three rattled out. Austin Reaves yelled at himself after one of his seven misses. And Dalton Knecht, getting his first career NBA start, missed all but one of his seven shots from three — including an airball.
Meanwhile, Memphis punished the Lakers with mini-flurries from their role players. Rookie Jaylen Wells hit back-to-back threes. So did former Lakers two-way center Jay Huff. Scotty Pippen Jr., another former Lakers two-way prospect, posed at his former bench after hitting one of his three threes.
Ja Morant, who scored 20 points, had to leave the game with a hamstring injury. But with Grizzlies making 17 threes, they had more than enough.
In addition to the cold shooting, Knecht had to leave the game after being elbowed in the face by Jake LaRavia. After having his jaw examined on the sideline, he went back to the locker room.
The Lakers finished their trip 1-4. They play Friday at home against Philadelphia, a stretch where six of their next eight games are in their home building.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
