NBA highlights on Jan. 5: Grizzlies burn Lakers with 3-pointer storm

The Memphis Grizzlies beat the Los Angeles Lakers 127-113 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, on Friday, extending the opponents' losing streak to four games.

Both teams have been among the NBA's worst in 3-point shooting this season, but there are differences between them. The Grizzlies have the worst 3-point rate (33.3 percent) of all 30 teams, but they averaged 12.9 triples, the 12th-most in the league, out of 38.8 attempts, the fifth-most, per game. By contrast, the Lakers are among the bottom-six in 3-point rate (35.1 percent, 24th place), triples made (10.7, 28th) and attempts (30.4, 29th).

In other words, the Lakers shot poorly from downtown and didn't want to fire too much there. The Grizzlies shot poor accuracy outside the 3-point line, but they made up for it with incredible production.

Both sides made protecting the paint their defensive priority in Friday's game, The Lakers concentrated over half of their defenders around the free throw line to shut down Ja Morant at the cost of leaving his teammates open, especially behind the arc. The Grizzlies often double-teamed Anthony Davis when he broke deep into the paint to keep him from rattling the rim and were willing to allow some space for his teammates to work off the dribble from outside.

Morant shot 7-for-17 from the field to get 21 points and seven assists, which were mediocre for his performance. However, Marcus Smart, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Desmond Bane punished the Lakers' defensive policy by combining to knock down 18 triples at 64.8 percent. Each of the three managed to maintain the team's offensive consistency from the second quarter. Morant and Ziaire Williams also added five triples, enabling the Grizzlies to set a new season high in making 3-pointers.

Compared with the Grizzlies who responded perfectly to the opponents' defense, the Lakers only managed to do so in the first period during which LeBron James went 4-for-4 from downtown. After that, the whole team missed 16 of their 21 triple attempts in the rest three quarters, basically encouraging the opponents to close in harder and harder on the defensive end.

The other major offensive trick of the Lakers ceased to work in the second half of Friday's game. On one hand, the Grizzlies shot better in field goals (FGs), leaving fewer rebounds for the purple and gold to exploit to launch early offense; meanwhile, Bane and Smart shared a big part of playmaking duties of Morant, making it more difficult for the Lakers to sabotage their ball movement. Furthermore, the Grizzlies repeated the opponents' trick from the third period and scored a lot of fast break points by making a series of quick 3-pointers.

The Lakers dropped out of the Western Conference play-in tournament zone after Friday's loss. They will play eight of their next 10 games before beginning a six-consecutive-game road trip from January 27.

Other games on Friday (away teams come first):

Atalanta Hawks 116-150 Indiana Pacers

The Pacers secured their sixth straight win with a franchise-record 50 assists at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. It took Tyrese Haliburton no more than 26 minutes in three quarters to get a double-double of 10 points and 18 assists with only two turnovers. Moreover, he wasn't the team's only elite orchestrator in the game. T.J. McConnell also had 10 points and 10 assists, making sure that their offense continued to go as smoothly as silk.

Compared with the Pacers that shot 63.8 percent from the field and had eight players score double-digit points, the Hawks had only four players reach double figures in points. The whole team went 40-for-93 in FGs with only 21 assists, but committed 14 turnovers. Trae Young missed 14 of his 18 shots, including 10 of his 11 triples, to get only 13 points and six assists. Dejounte Murray scored a team-high 31 points, but his performance was more like a commodity publicity since the team already made him widely available in trade talks.

New York Knicks 128-92 Philadelphia 76ers

The Knicks claimed their third consecutive win after smashing the 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Friday. Jalen Brunson scored 16 points in the second quarter, leading the team to establish a 20-point lead (75-55) after the first half. The Knicks' bench unit outscored their 76ers' counterpart 49-15. Josh Hart alone contributed 10 points, 15 rebounds and six assists.

The 76ers' ace duo, Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, both faced serious offensive trouble on Friday night. Embiid shot 3-for-12 in jumpers and had to charge the rim more than he usually does. Though he still got 30 points after going to the free throw line 12 times, working in low posts also made it easier for the Knicks to steal his ball as he committed six turnovers with only three assists. Maxey missed six of his seven attempts behind the arc, motivating the defenders to step back when they guarded him. Moreover, since Embiid appeared more often in deep positions, Maxey found the restricted area too crowded to break in.

Utah Jazz 97-126 Boston Celtics

Oklahoma City Thunder 115-124 Brooklyn Nets

Washington Wizards 90-114 Cleveland Cavaliers

Charlotte Hornets 91-104 Chicago Bulls

Minnesota Timberwolves 122-95 Houston Rockets

Los Angeles Clippers 111-95 New Orleans pelicans

Portland trail Blazers 103-139 Dallas Mavericks

Orlando Magic 122-120 Denver Nuggets

Miami Heat 97-113 Phoenix Suns

Detroit Pistons 109-113 Golden State Warriors

Toronto Raptors 130-135 Sacramento Kings