LeBron James, AD, D'Lo Inspire Lakers Fans' Title Hopes in Rout vs. Morant, Grizzlies

The Los Angeles Lakers demolished the Memphis Grizzlies 125-85 on Friday at Crypto.com Arena to polish off their Western Conference first-round playoff series in six games.

The Lakers led 31-20 after one quarter and 59-42 at the half before putting this game away with a 41-point third quarter that made the final 12 minutes completely moot.

D'Angelo Russell put on a scoring clinic with 31 points on 12-of-17 shooting (5-of-9 from three). LeBron James enjoyed an efficient and productive outing with 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting, six assists and five rebounds. Anthony Davis did work everywhere with 16 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks. Austin Reaves did a little of everything too (11 points, eight assists, six rebounds, two blocks).

Memphis couldn't get anything going, shooting just 30.2 percent from the field. The Grizzlies made just 17-of-58 two-pointers. Grizzlies star Ja Morant had an uncharacteristically tough outing, shooting 3-of-16 and finishing with a minus-31.

There's reason for fans and analysts alike to be optimistic about the Lakers' championship hopes at this point after the team crushed the Western Conference's No. 2 seed to close out an impressive first-round performance.

The Lakers have two superstars and a group of players around them that complements the duo well. If Russell's shot keeps falling and Reaves keeping being the team's jack-of-all-trades, then L.A. could win its second championship in four years.

Twitter expressed its optimism following the big win.

The Lakers now await the winner of the matchup between the Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors. The series is tied at three games apiece.

Sacramento hosts Golden State at Golden 1 Center for Game 7 on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET.