National Basketball Association
Memphis 103, L.A. Lakers 100
When: 8:00 PM ET, Saturday, December 3, 2016
Where: FedExForum, Memphis, Tennessee
Officials: #45 Brian Forte, #27 Mitchell Ervin, #9 Derrick Stafford
Attendance: 17017

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- The Memphis Grizzlies signed guard Troy Daniels for his shooting.

But earlier in the season he was out of synch and he could barely get on the court: nine games he didn't leave the bench, two other times he was made inactive, and two other times he played less than six minutes.

This week, he has been making up for all of it. Daniels scored a career-high 31 points off the bench as the Grizzlies defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 103-100 Saturday night at FedExForum. It was quite the encore to consecutive 19-point games.

I'm happy for Troy," said center Marc Gasol (19 points, eight assists). "He deserves it more than anybody, honestly. He's somebody that works at it, always has a great attitude about everything. Plays zero minutes for three games, plays five minutes, he's always coming back and working. I'm proud of him."

Memphis (13-8) led 103-97 after Gasol hit a short shot at the 1:15 mark. The Lakers cut the lead to 103-100 when guard Lou Williams (game-high 40 points) converted a three-point play.

The Lakers (10-12) had a great chance to tie when Gasol fouled power forward Julius Randle behind the 3-point line with 5.9 seconds remaining. But Randle, a 70.8 percent free-throw shooter, missed all three shots. Lakers guard Jordan Clarkson got the rebound but misfired on a desperation three from the corner and time ran out.

Williams had 28 points by halftime and Daniels had 23. Daniels hit 6 of 12 treys for the game and added four assists, a steal and block. Williams, who also came off the bench, was 4 of 8 from distance and went 14 of 14 from the foul line and just missed matching his career high of 44 points.

"It just flowed," Williams said. "It was just one of those games."

Said Daniels: "To be honest, I wasn't thinking about trading shots or anything like that. I was just taking what the defense gave me. I'm not out there trying to jack up shots, but I don't take a shot, I am hurting my team. I'm a shooter. That is what I do. That is why the Grizzlies got me."

The game was tight throughout the second half and featured 17 lead changes overall. The Lakers were hurt by 18 turnovers that translated into 25 Memphis points.

"We didn't get back in transition," said Lakers guard Brandon Ingram (nine points, five rebounds).

The Grizzlies' defensive specialist, Tony Allen (eight points, nine rebounds) picked up his third foul in the first half and played just over six minutes. That set the table for the veteran Williams, who went to the foul line 11 times through the first two quarters.

"A lot of rookies out there (for Memphis) who aren't familiar with keeping their hands out of the cookie jar," said Lakers coach Luke Walton. "He took advantage and that helped him get in a rhythm."

The Grizzlies got 16 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks from forward JaMychal Green, who scored eight points and grabbed seven rebounds in the third quarter as Memphis erased the Laker's eight-point halftime and sent the game into the fourth tied 82-82.

Los Angeles shot 43.2 percent from the field and hit 7 of 21 from 3-point range for 33.3 percent. The Grizzlies shot 46.6 percent and were 10 of 30 from distance for 33.3 percent.

Rookie guard Wade Baldwin handed out a career-high nine assists with seven points, three steals and a block for the Grizzlies. Forward Luol Deng had 18 points, five rebounds and four steals for L.A. and center Timofey Mozgov finished with 13 points and five rebounds.

Randle also got into foul trouble and finished with six points and six rebounds.

"He got a couple of early fouls he got frustrated with," Walton said. "That's part of the process too. You have to learn how to still play aggressive, even with fouls."

NOTES: The Lakers were without PG D'Angelo Russell (left knee), swingman Nick Young (right leg) and F Larry Nance Jr. (right knee). Memphis had six players out, including PG Mike Conley (lower back), PF Zach Randolph (personal) and SF Chandler Parsons (left knee). "That's part of NBA life," Los Angeles coach Luke Walton said. "They were able to get a big win against Orlando (Thursday) with this team so they are still very capable." ... The Memphis win over Orlando also made the Grizzlies 5-0 on the second night of back-to-backs. ... Walton was an assistant coach at the University of Memphis before the start of the delayed 2011-12 NBA season. Among his players was current Lakers big man Tarik Black. "I knew the kid was a beast back then," Walton said. ... Memphis PG Andrew Harrison leads NBA rookies in minutes per game (28.5) through Friday's games.
Top Game Performances
 
L.A. Lakers   Memphis
Lou Williams 40 Scoring Troy Daniels 31
Marcelo Huertas 7 Assists Wade Baldwin IV 9
Tarik Black 6 Rebounds JaMychal Green 13
Lou Williams 14 Free Throws Made Jarell Martin 4
Luol Deng 4 Steals Wade Baldwin IV 3
Brandon Ingram 3 Blocks JaMychal Green 3
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
L.A. Lakers 100 43.2 7-21 23-29 16 44 4 7 18
Memphis 103 46.6 10-30 11-15 32 43 7 13 12
Upcoming Games
  • Memphis will play their next game on the road against New Orleans. The Grizzlies have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .778 after a loss.
  • L.A. Lakers will play their next game at home against Utah. The Lakers have a W/L % of .300 after a win and .583 after a loss.