Lakers get historic start, get rid of Dillon Brooks' punch to LeBron James for 2-1 series lead

LOS ANGELES-- Seventeen seconds into the third quarter of the Lakers' 111-101 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies in Video Game 3 of their first-round playoff series on Saturday night, LeBron James was pushing the Crypto.com Arena court wincing in pain and Dillon Brooks was on his way to the locker space.

Approximately that point, their controversial matchup had been mainly simply talk, and mainly coming from Brooks. James said he didn't have time for the nonsense after Brooks had called him old and indicated he had no regard for anybody who had not scored 40 points on him during his profession.

But then, as James dribbled the ball up the court in the opening seconds of the 2nd half, Brooks punched the leading scorer in NBA history in the groin. After a short review by the video game's officials, Brooks was evaluated a flagrant-2 nasty and ejected after scoring seven points on 3-for-13 shooting.

James remained in the video game, helping lead the Lakers to a wire-to-wire success and a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. Anthony Davis scored 31 points on 11-for-24 shooting and got 17 rebounds, James scored 25 points on 10-for-20 shooting and Rui Hachimura scored 16 points in another strong effort off the bench as the Lakers built a 29-point first-half lead and never routed.

Grizzlies star Ja Morant returned after remaining Game 2 and had 45 points, 13 assists and 9 rebounds, going 6 for 10 from 3-point range. He scored 22 consecutive Memphis points throughout a sensational fourth quarter.

The Lakers' 35-9 lead by the end of the very first quarter was tied for the biggest in NBA playoff history, and it was the franchise's most significant postseason lead after a quarter considering that they led the Boston Celtics by 21 points on June 12, 2008. They ended up losing Game 4 of the Finals in spite of their massive early lead.

The second-seeded Grizzlies did themselves no favors in the first quarter. They missed 22 of 25 shots, consisting of 12 of 13 from behind the 3-point arc, and had 6 turnovers that the Lakers turned into 10 points. The Lakers made 14 of their first 27 shots and appeared poised to deliver a beatdown.

No question, Brooks talked a great video game after the Grizzlies' triumph in Game 2 connected the series at one success each. But he didn't play an excellent one to start Game 3, delighting the Lakers' crowd with one miss after another. He missed his first five shots before scoring on a drive.

Lakers fans booed Brooks during his pregame warmup, during the pregame intros of the starting lineups and each time he dealt with the ball. They cheered hugely when his shots ricocheted off the rim and backboard and into the hands of waiting Laker rebounders.

Brooks wasn't alone in misfiring from near and far. Jaren Jackson Jr. was scoreless on 0-for-3 shooting in the very first quarter, Xavier Tillman had 2 points on 1-for-3 shooting. They were the Grizzlies' prominent scorers in Games 1 and 2 however were non-factors to start Game 3.

The fans remained in an uproar when a replay of Brooks' punch to James was revealed on the arena's huge overhanging scoreboard. They turned their boos into cheers when his departure after his ejection was announced, his role as the Grizzlies' top agitator having actually gotten the best of him.

Morant, the Grizzlies' prominent scorer throughout the routine season, began Game 3 after sitting out Game 2 since of a hand injury. He scored 16 of the Grizzlies' 37 points in the very first half, making 2 totally free throws and then 2 more in the closing moments of the half as Memphis closed within 53-37.

Morant's participation wasn't determined till minutes before the start of the game. Tyus Jones replaced him in the Grizzlies' starting lineup for Game 2 however returned to a reserve function for Game 3. Morant had a hand injury going into the playoffs and aggravated it on a tough fall late in Game 1.

Video game 4 is Monday night back at Crypto.com Arena.

More to come on this story.