The Memphis Grizzlies defeated the Los Angeles Lakers despite the absence of superstar Ja Morant and balanced the series with 1 win and 1 loss.
Memphis defeated the Lakers 103-93 in the second game of the Western Conference at the FedEx Forum on the 20th (Korean time). In Game 1, Morant, who injured his right hand while landing while attempting a drive-in layup under the goal, was missing, and he made 11 3-pointers, 4 more than the Lakers, to avenge the loss in Game 1.
Memphis showed a stark difference this year with 40-21 when point guard superstar Morant joined the starting team and 11-10 when he was absent. However, Memphis, who lost the first game at home, did not lose control throughout the game and won by 10 points. The Lakers had a 3-point lead in the first half. 메이저놀이터
The Memphis Starting 5 played flawlessly with all scoring double-digit points, including 22 points from power forward Xavier Tillman. Six people, including sixth man Luke Cunard, managed to score double digits.
The Lakers, who won the game 128-112 with a 3-point explosion in the 4th quarter in the first game, only three players, including LeBron James 28 points and sixth man Louis Hachimura 20 points, compared to the Memphis offense with double-digit scores.
The Denner Nuggets beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 122-113 at home and took advantage of advancing to the second round with two wins in the series. Denver’s point guard Jamal Murray scored 40 points for the first time in a long time. The team’s flagship center Nikola Yogichi recorded 27 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists.
In Minnesota, shooting guard Anthony Edwards poured in 41 points and all five starting players scored in double digits, but Denver could not overcome Denver’s home court advantage in the last minute.
Meanwhile, the Milwaukee Bucks, whose best active power forward, Giannis Athetonkubbo, was absent due to a back injury, beat the Miami Heat 138-122 in the second game continued at the home Peers Forum and made the series one win and one loss.
1 seed Milwaukee generously filled the vacancy of Ate Tokenbo with 7 players including starting center Brooke Lopez scoring 25 points and point guard Drew Holiday scoring 24 points. However, 8th seed Miami achieved the expected result by balancing the series with 1 win and 1 loss in the Milwaukee expedition. Small forward Jimmy Butler showed off stable shooting, scoring 35 points in the first game and 25 points in the second game.
The Lakers and the Heat, who achieved 1 win and 1 loss on the road, will play the 3rd game of the 1st round of the conference at home on the 23rd.