The Los Angeles Lakers played in a close game against the top seeded Memphis Grizzlies, only to lose by six points in the end. The Lakers’ poor execution was a cause for their downfall late in the fourth quarter.

The Lakers held a narrow lead for most of the game, but the Grizzlies slowly chipped away and took a six-point lead late in the third quarter and held on to it. Kobe Bryant was very passive to start the game, as he did not take his first shot attempt until the 3:32 mark of the second quarter, which is truly surprising.

However, Kobe’s teammates, especially Jeremy Lin, were carrying the offensive load. Lin scored eight of his 14 points during the first four minutes of the game. For the Grizzlies, Mike Conley and Zach Randolph were keeping them alive while Marc Gasol was extremely quiet in the first half.

Gasol did get it going in the third quarter, while Bryant started to score for the Lakers on the other end. Gasol put in 12 points in the third quarter, and Kobe pushed in 10.

With Kobe on the bench, Ronnie Price filled in the void early in the fourth quarter, scoring six straight points for the Lakers, but the Lakers were still playing catchup. The fourth quarter saw long droughts by both teams, and the closest the Lakers would get was two points.

The Lakers’ execution was horrific late in the game. With a little over a minute to go in the contest, the Lakers had the ball, down four. Instead of looking for a quality shot, Kobe Bryant fired up a 25-foot three-point jump shot and missed it badly.

Then with around 15 seconds left in the game, the Lakers still down four, Kobe turned the ball over, which sealed the team’s faith, as the Grizzlies won, 99-93.

Kobe Bryant, who only had eight points at the half, finished with a team-high 22 points. Jeremy Lin followed suit with 14 points, five assists, four rebounds, two steals, and one block. Ronnie Price was phenomenal on both ends of the floor and finished with 11 points and five assists. Young put in 13 points off the bench but shot just 4-for-14 from the field. Ed Davis only had two points but added eight rebounds and three blocks.

Marc Gasol and Mike Conley paced the offense for Memphis with 19 points apiece. Gasol also added 11 rebounds, four assists, two steals, and three blocks to his stat line, while Conley pitched in seven assists. Zach Randolph quietly put in 16 points and nine rebounds in only 28 minutes of play. He sat out for almost the entire fourth quarter. The Grizzlies received balanced scoring from their bench unit.

The Grizzlies shot poorly from three-point distance but outscored the Lakers 46-32 in the paint. They also out-rebounded the Lakers by a slight margin of 45-42.

For the most part of this game, the Lakers looked good, as they were playing with more effort and enthusiasm. With this loss, they now drop to 3-12, which is once again the worst record in the West. The Grizzlies tie for league best 13-2.

Both teams are back in action on Friday, November 26. The Lakers will host the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Grizzlies, meanwhile, have a huge test coming up on the road against the red hot Portland Trail Blazers, who are on a nine-game winning streak.