NBA: Grizzlies rip Lakers as Howard exits early with shoulder injury

January 24, 2013 11:49am


The hits just keep coming for the Los Angeles Lakers.

The much-ballyhooed assembly of All-Star-caliber players lost another one of their four stars to injury and were drubbed relentlessly in the paint by the Memphis Grizzlies, 106-93, Wednesday (Thursday, PHL time) at the FedExForum in Memphis.

Dwight Howard exited the game with 2:21 remaining in the first half and it was later revealed that the center had re-aggravated his right shoulder injury, which had previously kept him out for a week.

[Related: Lakers center Howard injures shoulder anew]


Without him, the Lakers slumped to their fourth loss in a row, and are now 17-25. Memphis on the other hand improved to 27-14, strengthening their hold on the fourth seed in the West.

A lay-up by Mike Conley Jr. gave the Grizzlies a 15-point lead, 50-35, their biggest of the first half, but a 15-6 run by the Lakers, working around Howard's exit, allowed them to get within six points, 56-50, before Rudy Gay closed out the second with a triple and Pau Gasol flubbed two charities.

After the break, charities by Darrell Arthur restored the Grizzlies' double-digit lead late in the third, 79-69, with 1:58 remaining in the quarter. The home team then managed to take that margin into the final period, 83-73.

That was when Memphis took over, using a 12-5 run capped by a Jerryd Bayless dunk for a 95-78 buffer, halfway through the fourth. Charities by Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol attempted to stem the tide, but back-to-back lay-ups by Zach Randolph allowed the home team to extend their lead past the 20-point barrier. Following the second score by the Memphis power forward, Lakers head coach Mike D'Antoni waved the white flag, pulling out his starters with 2:06 remaining in the game.

Six Grizzlies finished in double-digit scoring, led by reserve big man Darrell Arthur, who compiled 20 points, nine rebounds and three assists. Mike Conley addd 19 points and six assists, while Rudy Gay, Zach Randolph and Tony Allen each added 12.

[Related: Grizzlies cut payroll, send players to Cavaliers]



Kobe Bryant put up 29 points on 23 shots, making just 1-of-7 triples. Metta World Peace chimed in with 15, while Pau Gasol had 13 points and eight rebounds. Dwight Howard had just two points, and two rebounds, while missing all of his attempts from the field, prior to his exit.

The Grizzlies were simply too deadly down low for the Lakers to handle. They out-scored LA 60-34 in points in the paint, and dominated the glass 52-34, 16-7 on offensive rebounds. That led to a wide 27-3 margin in second-chance points. - AMD, GMA News