LOS ANGELES — If there were doubts about LeBron James’ ability to consistently string together strong performances in Year 22, he’s pretty much erased them this week.
James recorded his third consecutive triple-double on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena, leading the Lakers to a 128-123 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies to put the Lakers at 7-4 on the season.
The win was the Lakers’ sixth in a row at Crypto.com Arena, their most consecutive home wins to start a season since 2010-11.
With Anthony Davis in foul trouble, James (35 points, 14 assists and 12 rebounds) once again led the Lakers in the game’s most precarious moments, helping keep them afloat for most of the fourth quarter.
But when James and Davis were both on the floor late, the Lakers closed it out. James and Davis scored or assisted on 19 of the Lakers’ final 23 points to secure the win.
Davis finished with 21 points, 14 rebounds, three blocked shots and three assists in 32 minutes. Rui Hachimura and Dalton Knecht each scored 19 points, while Austin Reaves finished with 18 points and six assists.
The Lakers jumped out to a 38-26 lead at the end of the first quarter behind James’ hot start, which included a buzzer-beating 3 before the quarter ended.
But the Lakers’ defense took a step back from there, in part because of their ball security.
The Lakers had seven turnovers in the second, helping Memphis outscore them 38-27 in the quarter to trim its deficit to 65-64.
Jaren Jackson Jr. (29 points, seven rebounds) hit a 3 early in the third quarter to give Memphis its first lead since early in the first, 67-65.
Knecht kept the Lakers in the game with a scoring barrage late in the quarter, scoring eight points of his scoring total in the final three minutes of the third, including a pair of 3s.
James opened the fourth quarter by assisting Knecht on a 3-pointer for his 10th assist and Knecht’s 19th points, cutting the Grizzlies’ lead to 96-94.
The Lakers and Grizzlies were neck and neck for most of the fourth, with neither leading by more than five in the quarter’s first eight minutes, before the two-man game between James and Davis, as well as late shotmaking from Hachimura and Reaves, put them over the top.
Memphis got 48 points from its bench, led by Marcus Smart (14 points, six assists) who made his return after missing the last two weeks because of a sprained ankle.
The Lakers will play back-to-back road games against the San Antonio Spurs (Friday) and the New Orleans Pelicans (Saturday).