The Los Angeles Lakers entered Memphis as decided underdogs but put up a good fight before eventually falling 107-102 on Tuesday night.
Prior to the game starting, the Lakers were shocked with news that Wayne Ellington’s father was shot and killed in Philadelphia on Sunday night. Ellington, who is in his first season with the Lakers, was granted an indefinite leave from the team, and by all accounts, the locker room was hit hard by the news.
"It kind of puts everything in perspective," Lakers' coach Byron Scott said before the game.
However, the Lakers still had a game to play Tuesday night.
Starting out, the Lakers struggled to grab hold of the glass, as the Grizzlies racked up eight offensive rebounds in the first quarter. The visitors, however, cleaned up that aspect of the game, and only gave up one offensive rebound in the second quarter.
Carlos Boozer continued his hot hand from Sunday's win over the Charlotte Hornets. Boozer scored 10 points in the first half on 5-7 shooting from the field. Prior to fouling out in the fourth quarter, Boozer finished with 20 points on 8-13 shooting.
To go along with Boozer, Wesley Johnson finally stepped up and had his best game of the young season. Johnson also had 10 points in the first half, and the lengthy forward was active on both ends. Johnson finished with 15 points on the night.
Of course, Kobe Bryant led the Lakers, per usual. Bryant had 11 points in the first half and finished with 28 points on the night. This night, however, will likely be better remembered as the moment Bryant passes John Havlicek as the NBA player with the most missed shots in the history of the NBA.
With about six minutes to play in the fourth quarter, Bryant missed a shot for the 13,418th time in his 19-year career. Although the record may have been worth the historical perspective, it was a testament to Bryant’s longevity rather than his poor shooting. Havlicek, like Bryant, was one of the greatest scorers in NBA history and a multiple-time champion. With the Celtics, Havlicek won eight NBA titles and even collected an NBA Finals MVP.
Karl Malone, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Michael Jordan are also in the top six in that category. No coincidence, Bryant, Jordan, Malone and Abdul-Jabbar are the top four scorers in NBA history.
Back to the present day, Bryant's Lakers hung with the Grizzlies for the better part of three quarters until the home team created a 10-point cushion that would extend to 17 points early in the fourth quarter.
Down 17 points, Scott turned to Bryant and called his star player off the bench. Right on cue, the 36-year-old caught fire and led the Lakers' comeback. Promptly, the Lakers rallied to within three points with about a minute and a half to play. Down three points, the Lakers had an open look with about 30 seconds to play. Jordan Hill, who had a tough night with his set shot, missed the open shot, and the rebound fell to Memphis.
"I take all the blame for that because that's not what we wanted at that particular time," Scott said about the play that led to Hill's shot.
The Lakers fell to 1-6 on the season but do not have much time to mull over the loss. The team took the next flight out of Memphis. On Wednesday night, the Lakers will be in New Orleans to take on the Pelicans.
