Lakers' LeBron James Credits Ja Morant After Grizzlies PG Scores 45 in Injury Return

Ja Morant made an emphatic return to the lineup, albeit in a losing effort as the Memphis Grizzlies fell 111-101 to the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2023 NBA playoffs.

Lakers star LeBron James praised the dynamic guard after the game.

"That boy's good," he told reporters. "I mean, he's good. He's so good at attacking the rim that you want to try to keep bodies in front of him, make him try to work on the perimeter. Well, tonight he made six 3's. That's a guy that gets going on the outside and he can do whatever he wants offensively."

Morant had game highs in points (45) and assists (13) while nearly earning a double-double by collecting nine rebounds. During one stretch in the fourth quarter, he scored 22 straight points for Memphis.

Unfortunately for the Grizzlies, they couldn't recover from a first quarter in which they fell behind 35-9.

Dillon Brooks might want to walk back his trash talk of James because the Lakers opened Game 3 with a clear chip on their shoulder. LeBron, for his part, finished with 25 points, nine rebounds, five assists, one steal and one block.

Brooks also got ejected in the third quarter for hitting James in the groin.

The action resumes Monday at Crypto.com Arena, and Game 4 is effectively a must-win situation for Memphis. James is no longer bulletproof in the playoffs, but you'd like his odds of seeing through a 3-1 series lead.

The Grizzlies will undoubtedly be encouraged by Morant's output, but Saturday showed he can't single-handedly carry them out of the first round.