Lakers beat Grizzlies, extending their winning streak to five games

Seven Lakers ended the night in double figures as the Lakers cruised to victory against the Grizzlies.

The Lakers found a way to continue racking up wins, earning their fifth straight victory, beating the Memphis Grizzlies 136-124 on Wednesday.

They did it without Anthony Davis, who was ruled out due to a left knee hyperextension he suffered in Tuesday's comeback win versus the Bucks.

LeBron James returned after missing the Milwaukee matchup and had a nice comeback with 23 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists.

With Davis out, the rest of the team stepped up, with seven players in double figures.

Rui Hachimura was sensational with 32 points, including going 7-8 from deep, his career-high in made 3-Pointers.

Taurean Prince led the bench mob, playing 23 minutes and scoring 15 off the bench.

Los Angeles is now 41-32 and this five-game winning streak is their longest of the season.

The Lakers started slow offensively against the Bucks on Tuesday, but that wasn't the case on Wednesday versus the Grizzlies. Los Angeles went on a 14-4 run early, establishing dominance and taking control of the game.

Austin Reaves turned into prime Magic Johnson during the opening quarter, feeding a lob dunk to Jaxson Hayes and then another to LeBron.

The Lakers got a bit sloppy during the final two minutes of the first, getting outscored 10-5 and their lead shrunk to one point.

Defense became more of a suggestion than a requirement throughout the second quarter as both teams exchanged baskets. Hachimura became more aggressive in the second quarter, leading the charge with 16 points and helping L.A. go on a 14-4 run to regain control of the contest.

Hayes continued to punish the rim as well, ending the first half with 10 points and Bron got going, scoring a nice jumper by getting the NBA's youngest player, GG Jackson, to bite on a pump fake while the NBA's oldest player finished in the paint.

Leading by eight to start the third, Hachimura continued his offensive onslaught with a pair of 3-pointers. After a Russell three, Memphis was forced to call timeout, but it did little to slow Los Angeles' momentum down as Russell and the Lakers continued making it rain.

The Lakers' lead ballooned to as high as 27, but Memphis ended the quarter on a 15-0 run and trimmed the deficit down to just 10 points entering the final quarter.

With the Lakers in danger of blowing the game, they needed a strong start to the fourth to avoid disaster. Hachimura and Taurean Prince responded by hitting back-to-back 3-pointers to settle the game down.

The Grizzlies never threatened to comeback again and with the Lakers up by 16 with 3:04 left, Darvin Ham took LeBron out and essentially let the clock wind down.

Key Takeaways

Memphis may be a bad team, but Los Angeles has struggled to win the games they are supposed to this year. It was nice to see them have a relatively easy win.

The Lakers appear to be peaking at the perfect time; they are on a five-game winning streak and inching closer to that eighth seed, now just a game and a half behind the Suns.

This is the season's last extended road trip and starting off 2-0 despite their star players both missing separate games is exactly what fans want to see as we head towards the season's final games.

The Lakers will aim for their sixth straight victory on Friday against the Indiana Pacers.

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88.