Lakers annihilate Grizzlies in Game 6 to knock out Western Conference’s No. 2 seed

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Lakers trounced the Memphis Grizzlies 125-85 Friday night at Crypto.com Arena, clinching the first-round NBA playoff series 4-2.

D’Angelo Russell led the Lakers with a game-high 31 points. LeBron James added 22 points and Anthony Davis chipped in 16 points, 14 rebounds and five blocked shots.

Grizzlies star Ja Morant had 10 points and shot 3-for-16 from the floor.

Next up: The Lakers advance to the Western Conference semifinals and will play the winner of the first-round series between the Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings. The Warriors and Kings play Game 7 Sunday in Sacramento.

“This thing is just getting started,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said.

Advancing to the Western Conference semifinals might seem like a modest achievement for a franchise with 17 NBA titles and a roster featuring two future Hall of Famers, James and Davis. But the Lakers started the year 2-10 and surged only after the team acquired key players – including Russell – before the trade deadline in early February.

The Lakers finished the regular season 9-2, then beat the Minnesota Timberwolves in the play-in tournament and entered the NBA playoffs as the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference.

Matched up against the second-seeded Grizzlies, the Lakers won Game 1 in Memphis and swept all three home games en route to winning the best-of-seven series.

On Friday, the Lakers took the suspense out of Game 6 early, leading by as many as 15 points in the first quarter and maintaining a double-digit lead for the rest of the half.

The Lakers were ahead so comfortably that James and Davis, who have been nursing assorted injuries throughout the season, sat out the entire fourth quarter. Early in the fourth, both teams pulled the rest of their starters.

It was a party for boisterous Lakers fans as their team stormed its way to victory while leading by as much as 36 points as Jack Nicholson sat courtside.

Russell, the starting point guard, fueled the Lakers early. He had 10 points on 5-for-8 shooting in the first quarter as the Lakers jumped out to a 31-20 lead.

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It was an all-around effort in the second quarter, with the Lakers blocking shots, corralling loose balls and delighting the crowd with fast breaks as they opened a 20-point lead.

At halftime, the Lakers led 59-42.

Showing off their size and athleticism, the Lakers blocked eight shots in the first half, led by Davis’ three blocks. The Grizzlies, by contrast, had zero blocked shots.

Shooting percentage from the floor was telling. In the first half, the Lakers shot 59.5% and the Grizzlies shot 32.7% from the floor.

James led the Lakers in the first half with 16 points and Davis had 11 points and 10 rebounds to go along with his three blocked shots.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Los Angeles Lakers eliminate No. 2 Memphis Grizzlies in first round