Lakers vs. Grizzlies score, takeaways: Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura shine as Los Angeles steals Game 1

The Lakers have stolen home-court advantage away from the Grizzlies

The Lakers and Grizzlies had never actually faced off in the postseason. Until now. When the Lakers defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first game of the Western Conference Play-In Tournament, they clinched the No. 7 seed and the right to face the Grizzlies in the first round. That seemed to be more than fine with Memphis' roster as well as Dillon Brooks made it clear the Grizzlies wanted to face LeBron James and the Lakers to open the postseason. While there is plenty of basketball left to be played in this series, it was James and the Lakers that came out on top in Game 1, 128-112, thanks largely in part to contributions from the supporting cast.

As great as James and Anthony Davis were for Los Angeles, the Lakers do not win this game without the performances from Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura as the pair combined for 52 points, nine rebounds and five assists to hold off a feisty Grizzlies team that gave Los Angeles all they could handle for roughly 45 minutes before the Lakers used a 15-0 run late in the fourth quarter to put the game away for good. With the win, the Lakers have stolen home-court advantage away from the Grizzlies as well as the momentum in this series. 

Here are the three biggest takeaways from Game 1.

1. What a game for the role players

When the Lakers won the championship in 2020, they got over 55 points per game from LeBron James and Anthony Davis. At this time this season, it seemed as though they'd need even more if they planned to make much noise in the 2023 playoffs. The Lakers tore down their entire supporting cast to trade for Russell Westbrook. They had to rebuild it on the fly in January and February. If you would've told any Laker fan that James and Davis would combine for only 43 points in the playoff opener, they would've assumed that it was an ugly loss, not a 16-point win.

But neither James nor Davis was the leading scorer for the Lakers. That honor belonged to Rui Hachimura, who scored 29 points in his playoff debut. Neither James nor Davis was the closer down the stretch for the Lakers, either. That was Austin Reaves, who scored 14 points in the fourth quarter and made it clear that he is, indeed, him. D'Angelo Russell started the second-half 3-point explosion. Jarred Vanderbilt defended Ja Morant.

This isn't to say that James or Davis struggled. They combined for 15 steals and blocks to lead the Laker defense, and 43 points on 54% shooting isn't exactly nothing. But the victory was decidedly a team effort, and it sets a precedent that the Lakers really needed this postseason. James is 38 years old. As we saw in the first half, Davis is going to get banged up across four rounds. It ain't 2020 anymore. The Lakers can't win a championship as a two-man team. They needed shot-creation out of their role players, and those role players more than delivered on Sunday.

2. Waiting on Morant

No analysis of this series matters if the Grizzlies are without their best player. Ja Morant suffered a hand injury in the fourth quarter and missed the final five minutes and change of his team's loss. X-rays came back negative, but we don't yet know how much time he'll miss, if any. He said after the game that his status for Game 2 was "in jeopardy."

The Grizzlies played the Golden State Warriors evenly across the first three games of their second-round series last season. Morant went down, and then the Warriors took care of business from there. Tyus Jones is among the best backup point guards in the NBA, but asking him to lead an offense for 40 minutes against the second-best defense in the NBA since the trade deadline is not realistic. Memphis cannot win this series if Morant doesn't return quickly. It's that simple.

That's the risk Morant runs with his playing style. He is one of the most explosive guards that the league has ever seen, and that leads to a number of scary falls and hard fouls. Most of the time, he gets up. He didn't on Sunday. And now, the Grizzlies await news on their superstar guard.

3. Can the Lakers maintain their small ball?

The Lakers largely played well defensively in Game 1. The one exception came against Jaren Jackson Jr. Davis defended him well when the two were matched up, but that was a rarity. Davis spent most of the game on Xavier Tillman. Doing so allowed him to function primarily as a help defender. However, that decision forced LeBron James and Rui Hachimura to guard Jackson for most of the game.

He bullied them for 31 points on 13-of-21 shooting. The Lakers didn't budge. They didn't even play a backup center, opting to keep James and Hachimura in as co-centers when Davis rested rather than use Wenyen Gabriel or Mo Bamba. Neither of them is particularly stout in the post either, so there isn't really a good option on this roster for those minutes.

That might mean that the Lakers need to match Davis' minutes with Jackson's, or at the very least have Davis defend Jackson one-on-one a bit more. It would be a sacrifice elsewhere, as Davis did an incredible job in his help role Sunday, but if Jackson is going to score that easily, the Lakers may need to just bite that bullet and make the change.

[Apr 16, 2023 at 5:24 pm ET · Sam Quinn]

Austin Reaves coming up clutch

That's seven nine points from Austin Reaves as the Grizzlies have gotten the lead down to one as well as a killer assist to Rui Hachimura. He's got 23 points in his playoff debut.

[Apr 16, 2023 at 5:22 pm ET · Sam Quinn]

Rui checks back in

Darvin Ham tends to let his last two closing spots, after LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Austin Reaves, get determined by who plays well earlier in the game. Sure enough, Rui Hachimura is back in the game to close for Jarred Vanderbilt

[Apr 16, 2023 at 5:21 pm ET · Sam Quinn]

Will the Lakers switch their matchups?

All game, Jaren Jackson Jr. has killed everyone in the post except for Anthony Davis. The logic of keeping Davis off of Jackson has made sense. He has eight combined steals and blocks working as a help-defender. But in the final minutes, the Lakers might need to bite the bullet and just put their best defender on the biggest Memphis threat.

[Apr 16, 2023 at 5:16 pm ET · Sam Quinn]

Lakers firmly in control

LeBron James hits a 3-pointer to push the lead to 108-101. Ja Morant is hurt. Desmond Bane is out with five fouls. It's gut-check time for Memphis. If the Grizzlies have any fight left, they need to show it now.

[Apr 16, 2023 at 5:15 pm ET · Sam Quinn]

Ja Morant is hurt

Ja Morant is headed back to the locker room. He seemed to hurt his hand on that offensive foul, and unfortunately for the Grizzlies, they don't have halftime ahead of them for him to get tested and hopefully recover. This is DEFCON 1 for the Grizzlies. Their best player is out of the game with five minutes and change remaining.

[Apr 16, 2023 at 5:14 pm ET · Sam Quinn]

Closing lineups

LeBron James and Jaren Jackson Jr. are back on the floor for the Lakers. With six minutes remaining, both teams have their starting lineups in the game. Don't be surprised if the Lakers go with Rui Hachimura down the stretch, but for now, Jarred Vanderbilt is in that last forward slot.

[Apr 16, 2023 at 5:09 pm ET · Sam Quinn]

Another LeBron rest

James goes to the bench again with a bit less than eight minutes remaining. He's only played 28 minutes. Assuming he takes a minute or two off, he's probably only going to finish this game with 34 or 35 minutes played, very low given his history. 

[Apr 16, 2023 at 5:06 pm ET · Sam Quinn]

Austin Reaves' favorite play

Austin Reaves gets fouled on more mid-range jumpers than just about anyone in the NBA. He does such an incredible job of stopping on a dime and leaning into defenders when he goes up. The result is two points the Lakers didn't really deserve. He's an incredible grifter.

[Apr 16, 2023 at 5:02 pm ET · Sam Quinn]

The Lakers need to get Anthony Davis in the game

The Grizzlies have cut the Laker lead to one. They can't hold this lead without Anthony Davis. He might have to play more minutes than he'd like, but he's their only chance at winning this game.

[Apr 16, 2023 at 4:57 pm ET · Sam Quinn]

Lakers finally getting hot from deep

After starting the game 5-of-20 from 3-point range, the Lakers nailed seven 3-pointers in the third quarter to carry a 96-90 lead into the final frame. Rui Hachimura is now 4-of-5 from 3-point range.

[Apr 16, 2023 at 4:55 pm ET · Sam Quinn]

How long can the Lakers afford to sit Anthony Davis?

The Lakers send Anthony Davis to the bench with 2:25 remaining in the third, but if the Lakers want to win this game, they probably have to get him back in at the beginning of the fourth quarter. They're in survival mode for the rest of the third. Of course, if Rui Hachimura keeps hitting all of his 3's, they're going to be just fine.