The Los Angeles Lakers entered halftime against the Memphis Grizzlies down 69-55 after being outscored 42-24 in the second quarter. The Lakers stormed back in the third, outscoring the Grizzlies 34-22, and finished off the comeback in the fourth to win 117-112.

After the game, Lakers star guard Austin Reaves recalled the demeanor of head coach JJ Redick at halftime.

Reaves Details Reddick's Speech

“I remember very vividly … His words were, ‘I’m not going to come in here yelling at y’all, but I want to.’ … And then proceeded to, not yell, but it wasn’t a regular voice. He raised it a little bit.”

The message got through as the Lakers knocked off the Grizzlies to grab a victory in their first NBA Cup game of group play. 

Reaves finished with 21 points, four assists, and four rebounds on 5-14 from the field and 2-8 from three. He did knock down all nine of his free throws.

The Lakers were helped by the return of Luka Doncic, who missed the previous three games with a left finger sprain and lower left leg contusion. Doncic scored 44 points on 14-27 shooting and 6-15 from three. He also dished out six assists and grabbed 12 rebounds.

Doncic has scored over 40 points in all three games he's suited up for this season.

Off the bench, the Lakers got contributions from Jake LaRavia, who finished with 13 points and chipped in with three steals while grabbing five rebounds. Jaxson Hayes finished with a +15 rating, playing 23 minutes after Deandre Ayton left the game early with back spasms. 

JJ Redick Pushes The Right Buttons At The Half

After the game, Redick said that he didn't raise his voice, at least he didn't think he did, but what he said wasn't safe for work. 

"If I had to summarize it, we didn't start the game playing hard, and then we did. We built an eight-point lead, and then they went on a 33-11 run, primarily with five guys on the court who played harder than us. We challenged them at halftime. It was like watching two different teams," stated Redick.

Redick said they had good stretches in the first half, but then looked like zombies, which allowed the Grizzlies to push their lead at halftime. 

Next up for the Lakers will be the Miami Heat at home on Sunday, followed by a road game against the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday.