After losing the first two games of their short road trip, the Los Angeles Lakers enter Memphis to play host to the Grizzlies at the FedExForum in the final meeting of the season between the two.

The grit-and-grind Grizzlies are a top team in the league, owning the third best record in the NBA and second best in the West. Thus, this is the toughest game of Los Angeles’ short away trip.

The Grizzlies are coming off of a thrilling win against the Houston Rockets in their last game on Wednesday. With the game tied at 100, Marc Gasol hit an incredibly tough, contested leaner with one-tenth of a second left on the clock. Memphis managed to escape with the victory thanks to Gasol’s heroics.

Gasol, who has been Memphis’ MVP thus far, put in 21 points, seven rebounds, and six assists on 10 of 14 shooting against Houston. His frontcourt mate Zach Randolph chipped in 15 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and three steals.

The Lakers most recently played the Miami Heat in a tightly contested game, but lost. L.A. was only trailing by three points with 21 seconds to go, but rookie Jordan Clarkson was unable to knock down the three-point shot that would have tied it.

Los Angeles had balanced scoring in that game, led by Jeremy Lin’s 12 points, nine assists, and four steals. He has been the best player on the team since the All-Star break and looks to continue his fine play in Memphis.

The Lakers will have one advantage against the Grizzlies, and that is their bench play. Lakers bench is now ranked first in the league, averaging 41.6 points a game, while Memphis’ bench ranks 20th. Guys like Lin, Ed Davis, Jordan Hill, and Wesley Johnson have been considerably consistent of late, something the team was looking for earlier in the season.

These two teams have already met three times this season with Memphis winning all three games, but surprisingly none of those games were blowouts.

In the first meeting early November, the Lakers battled back from a 17-point fourth quarter deficit to cut it to three points with a minute and a half to go, but they did not complete the comeback and lost, 107-102.

The second meeting was close throughout the entire contest, as none of the teams owned a lead larger than nine. The Grizzlies were ultimately able to hold on to win, 99-93, led by Marc Gasol who notched 19 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, three blocks, and two steals, thoroughly filling up the stat sheet.

The most recent meeting, which was on January 2nd, also came down to the wire. The Lakers actually had a chance to force overtime, but Kobe Bryant missed the potential game-tying three as time expired.

Bryant took part in all three of the games against Memphis, but will of course be sidelined this time out. Nick Young, who is dealing with knee issues and has missed the last five games, is deemed questionable for this one.

Despite Bryant being absent this time around, the Lakers could still put up a fight as they have the past few games. They have been playing with more effort and energy, which has seen them push their opponents to the final buzzer.

However, the Grizzlies have been phenomenal at home, owning a 23-7 record, while the Lakers have been abysmal on the road with a 7-24 record.

The game tips off at 8 pm Eastern Standard Time.