Getty Lakers legend Magic Johnson
Hall of Famer Magic Johnson issued a strong tweet on the Los Angeles Lakers ahead of Game 2 against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Johnson, one of the greatest players in Lakers history, says the team can’t be complacent after winning Game 1.
If the @Lakers are to win Game 2 they cannot be complacent. They have to play harder, more aggressive, and take better care of the ball because we know the Grizzlies will play better and be more physical in Game 2. The Lakers must be ready!
The Lakers stole home-court advantage by winning Game 1, 128-112. Rui Hachimura led the way with 29 points off the bench, Austin Reaves finished with 23 points, Anthony Davis put up 22 points, 12 rebounds, seven blocks and three steals and LeBron James chipped in 21 points, 11 rebounds and five assists.
The purple and gold have a golden opportunity to take command of the series by winning Game 2 and going up 2-0. Games 3 and 4 are in Los Angeles at Crypto.com Arena, where the LakeShow went 23-18 during the regular season.
LeBron James on Rui Hachimura: ‘He Was Huge’
Hachimura tied Mychal Thompson’s Lakers franchise record for most points by a reserve in a postseason game. James, who talks to Hachimura a lot, had a lot of praise for the Gonzaga product after Game 1.
“He was huge,” James said about Hachimura after Game 1. “Like you said, he hit timely shots. They made runs in the third quarter, he hit two 3s in a row. They made another run in the fourth quarter, he hit another 3 of an AR (Austin Reaves) pump-fake, drive, behind-the-back pass. He also had a beautiful, turnaround baseline jumper by their bench. He was just on time, on target all night tonight and we needed that, especially coming off the bench, especially as well as their bench is. They got so many great players come off their bench. So we was able to counter that with Rui’s big game.”
Hachimura appeared in 33 games with the Lakers during the regular season, averaging 9.6 points and 4.7 rebounds while shooting 48.5% from the field, 29.6% from 3 and 72.1% from the free-throw line. The 25-year-old becomes a restricted free agent this summer.
“I just try to stay in his ear,” James said. “Give him positive motivation, give him positive messages, let him know how important he is to our team, and in order for us to reach the goal we wanna reach, he has to be a huge part of that and he wants to be.”
LeBron James: Austin Reaves Closed Game 1
James and Davis are two of the best players in NBA history. However, it was Reaves who closed Game 1 for the Lakers.
“We trust him with the ball in his hands early in the game and late in the game,” James said. “So we got something going in the fourth quarter, and after every stop or if we didn’t get a stop or whatever, I think Jaren Jackson went on like a 5-0 run by himself when we went up seven, we went back to AR and just put the ball in his hands, he was able to hit a pull-up two, able to hit a three when they kind of had a soft switch and then hit another pull-up two to put us up eight. So he closed the game for us offensively.”
Reaves averaged 13.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.4 assists during the regular season. The rising star becomes a restricted free agent this offseason and the Lakers are expected to re-sign him, sources told Heavy Sports.