Another LeBron James triple-double leads Lakers to third straight win

LeBron James eased into the season, giving up shots to Anthony Davis and Austin Reaves, committing to JJ Redick’s style and letting his teammates settle in the first handful of games in his 21st season.

Maybe it was him who respected a new process. Perhaps it was a sign that the time the opponent he had never lost to would claim his final victory.

Or just maybe, it was all a mirage, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer and one of its greatest players still lurking, waiting for the moment to strike.

“He masters the game,” Redick said.

And he keeps showing how he feels.

On Wednesday, James did everything to lead the Lakers to a 128-123 victory over Memphis.

When the attack went cold, he scored. When the ball bounced off the rim, he put it in. And when a teammate scrambled up, he found him.

James scored 35 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and had 14 assists – his third straight triple-double – all leading to Lakers home wins.

It’s the fourth time in his career with back-to-back-to-back triple-doubles. Among the 11 oldest players to ever play with a triple-double, James has 10 of them.

“Just being very patient and taking what the defense gives me,” James said of that stretch. “I’ve been doing it for a while. So I understand time and scoring. I understand the ebb and flow of the game. So it’s nothing new to me.”

Wednesday’s heroics came as the Lakers blew an early 15-point lead while their leading scorer, Anthony Davis, was hampered by foul trouble and largely ineffective.

Through it all, James was fantastic, keeping the Lakers engaged and in the game even when it was tilting.

The Lakers, who had two days off to get ready for the Grizzlies, attacked Memphis early and played like a team looking to get one back after losing at Tennessee last week.

The ball bounced from one side to the other and the Lakers created open threes with sharp passes, powerful cuts and colliding screens.

They fixed many of their defensive issues, sprinted back in transition and cleaned up Memphis misses off the glass.

And then it stopped.

Everything the Lakers did right in the opening minutes Wednesday quickly backfired as the team’s energy evaporated and their intentions gave way to bad habits.

Despite the Grizzlies being without their starting backcourt, Ja Morant and Desmond Bane, Memphis prepared the Lakers’ defense in a way that made strong performances in their last two games look like anomalies.

Led by Jaren Jackson Jr., the one member of the Grizzlies’ big three who was healthy, Memphis outscored the Lakers 70-53 in the second and third quarters as the Lakers half-heartedly stroked the ball and made lazy mistakes. .

But the Lakers hung on, thanks to James, Rui Hachimura and rookie Dalton Knecht, who scored a career-high 19 points while making all five of his three-pointers.

Knecht and Hachimura combined to shoot 13-of-15 from the field for 38 points.

“I trust my shot and I work on it every single day. And my teammates know that and they want me to keep shooting the ball every single game,” Knecht said. “They’re always looking for me. And JJ has a lot of trust in me, always calls my number and plays for me. I just go out there to stay confident and not only try to shoot the ball but find my teammates and then play defense and grab rebounds.”

And after Davis returned to the game with five fouls midway through the fourth, he hit a pair of 3-pointers to push the Lakers through the stretch for their sixth straight home win to start the season.

It’s their best start to a year in their building since 2010. In the 1988-89 season, the Lakers began the year with 17 straight home wins.

The Lakers begin group play in the NBA Cup on Friday in San Antonio against the Spurs.