Japan men's national basketball team star Rui Hachimura helped the Los Angeles Lakers take a 2-1 lead over the Memphis Grizzlies with another strong performance off the bench Saturday in their NBA Western Conference first-round playoff series.
The 25-year-old Toyama Prefecture native was relishing the intense atmosphere of his first playoff game in Los Angeles after scoring 16 points and grabbing five rebounds in 22 minutes as the seventh-seeded Lakers held on to beat No. 2 seed Memphis 111-101.
"The crowd was crazy tonight and our energy was good too, so I think I loved it," he said. "I love those big games, I like the big moments. I think our chemistry is getting better every day, every game, so we're just trying to have fun and win those games."
Anthony Davis led the way for the Lakers with 31 points and 17 rebounds, while LeBron James added 25 points, nine rebounds and five assists.
Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant starred with 45 points, 13 assists and nine rebounds in his return from a hand injury that kept him out of Game 2 in Memphis.
The Lakers ended the first quarter with a commanding 35-9 lead and extended the margin to 29 before the Grizzlies threatened to make it a contest late, but never came closer than nine points.
Hachimura said the Lakers wanted to make a "statement" from the opening tip following their 103-93 loss to the Grizzlies in Game 2 on Wednesday in Memphis.
"I feel like tonight, we were ready to play. We had a tough loss last time at their home," Hachimura said. "We had a good practice yesterday and we were so locked in from the jump. We wanted to let them know who we are, and I think we (made) that statement."
Showing a confident stroke on his jump shot, Hachimura hit 6-of-10 from the floor, including 2-of-2 from three-point range.
"I've been practicing that shot this whole year," said the 203-centimeter forward, who is averaging 21.7 points in 28 minutes over the first three games of the series. "I was waiting for this moment, so I was just more confident shooting those threes."
Game 4 in the best-of-seven series will be played Monday in Los Angeles. The physical matchup has already seen its share of heated moments, including the ejection of Memphis guard Dillon Brooks for hitting James in the groin early in the third quarter on Saturday.
"We knew they were going to be so physical. They do some dirty play sometimes, you know, so (we've) just got to be careful with that," Hachimura said.
Elsewhere in the NBA playoffs, fellow Japan forward Yuta Watanabe did not feature for the Brooklyn Nets as they were swept out of the Eastern Conference first round with a 96-88 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.
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