MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Memphis Grizzlies put up a fight against the defending NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers, but it was not enough, as Lebron James led his team to victory beating Memphis 108-94.

The matchup between Memphis and Los Angeles consisted of several storylines, including the return of Marc Gasol to the FedexForum. Additionally, the Grizzlies, a team with several players battling injuries, would have to rely on its bench and young rookies to compete against James and company.

Despite losing, Memphis head coach Taylor Jenkins says he is pleased with the way his team competed against the Lakers.

“I’m proud of the way our guys fought,” Jenkins said after the game. “We didn’t out to a really good start to the start of the first quarter. We had to kind of wake up and then we took off from there. The second and fourth quarter really hurt us, but we were neck and neck for a great majority of the game.”

The Grizzlies started off hot scoring 36 points in the first quarter, but they allowed the Lakers to score 31 points in both the second and fourth quarters. The Lakers held the Grizzlies to 19 points in the final 12 minutes of the game.

Jenkins said at times his team could not find the bottom of the net.

“They made some big shots,” Jenkins said. “We could not get some shots to fall, you know. Credit the Lakers, obviously, their pressure had a lot to do with it. We had some good moments where we made some great plays, just missed some shots. Then the pressure rushed us into some forced plays as well.”

Though the Grizzlies came up short against the Lakers, Taylor said he was also pleased with how his young players like Desmond Bane and Xavier Tillman Jr., got a chance to continue to grow as players.

“For the most part, really proud of guys just stepping up. It was great to see X’s [Xavier Tillman] first game of the season I thought he gave us some great contribution, and that’s how we are built,” Jenkins said. “Next guy up. We just have to rely on our depth every single night, just play competitiveness and unselfishness. I thought we had great effort tonight, just came up a little bit short there in the fourth quarter with not making the plays.”

Bane played 21 minutes off of the bench and chipped in 13 points shooting 5-for-8 from the field and knocking down 3 of his 4 shots from behind the arc. After the game, the rookie out of TCU said he is finding his rhythm and is getting more comfortable.

“Yeah, the older guys have given me a lot of confidence. The player development program here is really strong, really good. It’s definitely helped my game,” Bane said.

Bane and Tillman shared the court for the first time as Tillman has been sidelined due to injury. Bane said he was happy for rookie partner.

“So happy for him. He’s a competitor. For him to have to sit out on the road trips knowing that he could help our team, especially when guys were going down and things like that,” Bane said. “I know it was tough on him. I was super excited for him to not only get out there but to play well in the minutes that he had. I’m super excited for him.”

Tillman played 17 minutes off of the bench and contributed 6 points and 6 rebounds against the Lakers. The former Michigan State Spartan said he did “okay,” but is looking forward to steadily improving.

“I did OK, especially for the first game,” Tillman said. “I did OK. There were a couple of times when I was supposed to dive to the corner on defense and get the steal or deny somebody. I gave up a couple offensive rebounds. Those types of plays, as I get going, those will be nonexistent because those are the plays I have to make sure I have. Other than those two, it was pretty good.”

No stopping LeBron James in the final 12 minutes of the game

LeBron James took over the game to open the fourth quarter and helped the Los Angeles Lakers pull away for their third straight victory.

James had 22 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists, Anthony Davis added 17 points and nine rebounds as the Lakers opened a two-game set in Memphis with a 108-94 victory over the Grizzlies on Sunday night.

“We were doing a lot of jostling with Memphis,” James said, “At the start of the fourth, I wanted to try and implement myself and my scoring a little bit more. Get a bit more in attack mode and see if I could kind of open the game up and we were able to do that.”

James played within the offense for the first three quarters, then became more aggressive to start the fourth, scoring the Lakers first 10 points of the period. His 3-pointer with 2:34 left made it 101-90.

Montrezl Harrell added 16 points and nine rebounds to help the Lakers.

Kyle Anderson led Memphis with 18 points, and Jonas Valanciunas had 14 points and 10 rebounds. Tyus Jones also had 14 points, and rookie Desmond Bane had 13.

The Lakers led 56-54 at the break after both teams held advantages of at least nine points in the first half. Los Angeles took a 77-75 lead into the fourth.

After surrendering 36 points in the first quarter, the Lakers held the Grizzlies to 18, 21, and 19 over the final three periods.

“That’s figuring out opponents, making in-game adjustments and doing what’s necessary to get a win,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said.

The teams will meet again Tuesday night.

TIP-INS

Lakers: G Kentavious Caldwell-Pope missed the game with soreness in a left ankle he sprained in the last game against San Antonio. Kyle Kuzma started in Caldwell-Pope’s place. …G Alex Caruso missed his fourth game under the health and safety protocol.

Grizzlies: Due to local COVID-19 restrictions, the game was played with no general tickets sold. However, about 75 “guests” were allowed in floor seats. Additionally, family members and some friends were seated in the lower bowl of FedExForum. …G Grayson Allen returned after missing Friday’s win at Charlotte with a mild left ankle sprain. …Rookie Xavier Tillman playing in his first game, scored his first NBA points in the opening quarter.

LBJ MINUTES: Lakers coach Frank Vogel said the front office and staff have discussed James’ playing time. “It’s a day-to-day, game-to-game type of thing We just want to be responsible with his minutes.”

GASOL TRIBUTE: Lakers center Marc Gasol played in Memphis for the first time since he was traded to Toronto at the 2019 trade deadline. Gasol played 10-plus seasons with the Grizzlies. The Raptors did not travel to Memphis after COVID-19 stalled last season. The Grizzlies had a video tribute to Gasol during a first-quarter timeout.

“You always have in the back of your mind – when am I going to play Memphis again,” Gasol said of the post-trade situation. “In your mind is the stands are full. …It makes it a little less special because with people it would have made this journey here to Memphis unique and special to me.”

James added: “I hope when we get our fans back, that Marc can get another (video),” James said. “I truly hope that they re-show that video again.

The Associated Press contributed to this story