LOS ANGELES — Maybe Dillon Brooks learned a valuable lesson — don’t mess with LeBron James.
James and the Lakers rolled past the Memphis Grizzlies, 111-101, riding a massive early lead Saturday into a 2-1 edge in the best-of-seven playoff series.
How dominant were the Lakers in the first half? They set a franchise record by owning a 26-point lead after the first quarter. It looked almost comical on the scoreboard: Lakers 35, Memphis 9.
Yes, nine points.
Grizzlies guard Ja Morant eventually made it interesting with an individual 24-point outburst in the fourth quarter, but the Lakers held on to take a solid step in the first-round playoff series.
The Crypto.com Arena crowd loved every minute of Saturday’s, bathing in the glow of the first sold-out playoff game at the arena in 10 years.
Lakers fans heckled Brooks, the Grizzlies’ mouthy irritant, an hour before the game when he came out to the court for a 20-minute workout.
Brooks, after all, tried to antagonize James after the Grizzlies’ Game 2 victory, calling him “old” and adding that he wouldn’t respect James unless the 38-year-old scored 40 points on him.
Brooks was the one who didn’t earn any respect after striking James in the groin as James dribbled upcourt 17 seconds into the third quarter. Referees reviewed the play as James remained crumpled on the court and determined Brooks committed a Flagrant Two foul, grounds for immediate ejection.
Brooks finished with an eyesore of a stat line, missing 10 of 13 shots and totaling seven points. He made only one of five shots from three-point range and declined to talk to reporters after the game.
James took the high road after scoring 25 points and handing out five assists.
“My resume and what I’ve done for this league speaks for itself,” he said before referencing Brooks’ “old” barb levied at James. “I don’t really get caught up in any comments like that.”
James, however, acknowledged enjoying the unspecified words he had for Brooks near center court before the game began.
“It wasn’t private because everybody saw it. It was very, very public. I like it that way,” he said.
It’s likely the headstrong Brooks won’t learn from his mistakes. It’s also likely the Lakers won’t care as long as they win two more games in this series.
Lakers center Anthony Davis bounded back from a subdued Game 2 and had no problem Saturday against the recently adorned Defensive Player of the Year, Grizzlies center Jaren Jackson Jr.
Davis had 31 points and added 17 rebounds, not to mention three blocked shots. He was more decisive with the ball on offense, going at the Grizzlies quickly and authoritatively.
“I just wanted to come out and be aggressive,” he said. “Didn’t like my performance in Game 2.”
Davis was also a big part of a Lakers defense that held Memphis to abysmal three-of-25 shooting in the first quarter.
The score got closer in the final minutes when Memphis moved within nine of the Lakers thanks primarily to Morant’s moves, which including scoring 22 consecutive points for the Grizzlies. He looked plenty healthy after missing Game 2 because of a hand injury.
But Lakers fans had the last celebration Saturday. They deserved it after missing out on prime playoff games the last few years.
The Lakers won the championship in 2020, but it took place entirely in the “bubble” environment in Orlando without fans during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A year later, the arena capacity in Los Angeles was only 45% because of pandemic regulations during the Lakers’ brief playoff run.
There were no such restrictions on Saturday. A full crowd of 18,997 was on hand.
“It was amazing,” James told Spectrum SportsNet. “They gave us all the energy, and we just tried to pay it back to them.”
Consider it paid. Game 4 in the series is Monday in Los Angeles.
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