The Los Angeles Lakers entered Saturday’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies having lost four of the previous five, but LeBron James used some forceful leadership to make sure the struggles didn’t continue during the 134-127 victory.

“He was an incredible leader tonight,” head coach JJ Redick said of James, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “And it was early. It was throughout the game. When we got down, I challenged the group in a timeout and he was as vocal as he’s been since he got back from injury. And that galvanized the group. … I think if he doesn’t say what he said in the timeout, we probably don’t win the game.”
Austin Reaves also highlighted that leadership and said, “It was the first time I’ve heard him yell in a while. It was refreshing, to be honest. I loved it.”

The approach clearly worked with Reaves, who stuffed the stat sheet with 31 points, eight assists and seven rebounds behind 5-of-8 shooting from deep. It was part of an excellent overall performance from the Lakers’ three go-to options, as James (25 points, eight assists, six rebounds and three steals) and Luka Dončić (29 points, nine assists, eight rebounds and two steals) also played well.

Those performances came after Redick had a meeting with the trio prior to Saturday’s contest, per McMenamin.

“We challenged all three of them when we get to their three-man actions to play with a little more force and a little more thrust and a little more creativity,” the coach said.
The win helped move the Purple and Gold one game ahead of the Grizzlies in the race for the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference and home-court advantage in the first round. They are also just 1.5 games behind the third-seeded Denver Nuggets with an opportunity to move up in the coming days.

Los Angeles’ final eight games of the regular season are against Western Conference foes, including Monday’s showdown with the Houston Rockets.
James, Dončić and Reaves can finish the season on a high note and take momentum into the playoffs if they continue to play like they did Saturday, which means the King may look to continue his vocal leadership that drew so much praise in the upcoming stretch.