After the Los Angeles Lakers' first win of the season, Cameron Anthony got the ball for the game.
Anthony just finished with a team-high 28 points, finished ninth on the NBA career scoring list, and was asked to speak. Anthony, 37, said he was too tired.
Anthony Davis scored 22 points and four blocks, LeBron James scored 19 points as the Lakers beat Jamorant's 40-pointer 121-118 on Sunday night and beat the Memphis Grizzlies.
There was a lot of drama in the final minute as Morant was fouled by Kent Bazemore's three-pointer with 2.5 seconds left in the game and Memphis trailing by three points. Morant had a chance to equalize, but the third and final free throw miss was won by the Lakers.
Anthony now has a career score of 27,423 points, surpassing Moses Malone (27,409). Shaquille O'Neal is eighth with 28,596 points.
Anthony, who was third overall picked in the 2003 Draft, said: "I've been saying it's an honour and a blessing to be able to overtake Moses (Malone) on this list because of all he does in basketball. "It's hard to put it in words. I'm still here and doing this, and that's what I'm excited about, I came here in 19th grade and did what I could do. I'm still passionate about racing, I'm still passionate about going to work and getting better. ”
The Lakers broke the first two consecutive defeats of the season. The Grizzlies lost for the first time since back-to-back wins in the opening season.
Morant shot 13-of-21 from the field and hit his career-best 5 three-pointers. He added 10 assists. At the end of the half, Morant scored 17 points, including four three-pointers.
"I really don't care what I did tonight," Morant said. "I missed a free throw to equalize. It was pretty much the only thing that came to my mind. ”
Davis blocked Morant's layup with 50 seconds left in the game, which appeared to seal the victory for the Lakers. The two teams exchanged three-pointers before Bazemore fouled Morant. But the Grizzlies failed to complete their comeback.
The Lakers are on the bench for the first time since Davis and Dwight Howard physically confronted each other on the bench against Phoenix. The two announced that the differences ended at the end of halftime.
It was a scary moment for the Lakers, with James falling on the court in the third quarter after Desmond Bane fell, with some pain in his right leg. James was looked at by the trainer and briefly collapsed. He retipped his shoelaces, bounced back, jumped a few times, and stayed in the game.
James sat on the bench next to his teammate and old friend, Anthony, 37, when a video was played paying tribute to his latest milestone as fans chanted "Melon!" ”
"I think it's always sweeter when you win, sweeter when it happens organically," James said of Anthony's milestone. "He plays smooth and rhythmic basketball. It's special to be in the ninth place in history on the scoring charts. Usually, when some of my friends have such accomplishments, I text them or call them or Facetime to give them something on social media. In this case, I have to do it myself because he is now my teammate. I had to do it myself. It's special to me. ”
The Grizzlies led by as many as 10 points in the first quarter. The Lakers had an advantage on the inside, taking advantage of their height to take a 62-56 lead at halftime.
The Lakers held a lengthy video conference on Saturday to address issues such as defensive issues. According to Frank Vogel, it brings a lot of benefits.
"I just feel like our team has a feeling that we're good," Vogel said. "We have a lot of work to do and we are willing to put in the work. We felt good about our group. We want to start 2-0. We didn't. But the mentality is to get the next game and still understand that it takes some patience, but we feel really good about our team. ”
Grizzlies: Guard D'Antoni Milton scored 10 points at 5:10 in the first quarter. ...... The Grizzlies played back-to-back and won at staples center the day before, beating the Clippers 120-114. They showed little signs of fatigue in the fourth quarter.
Lakers: Los Angeles played a tribute video to Anthony on JumboTron in the fourth quarter to commemorate his rise on the NBA scoring list. Fans erupted with "Melon! "Shouts.