#12 F Jake LaRavia of the Los Angeles Lakers drives in for a slam dunk during an NBA game against the Memphis Grizzlies on January 2, 2026 in Los Angeles, CA. #36 PG Marcus Smart of the Los Angeles Lakers makes a pass during an NBA game against the Memphis Grizzlies on January 2, 2026 in Los Angeles, CA.

Former Grizzlies Jake LaRavia and Marcus Smart made clutch plays for Los Angeles as the Lakers pulled away from Memphis during the fourth quarter.

Friday, Jan. 2, 9:30 p.m. CST, Crypto.com Arena TV: FanDuel Sports Network Southeast (Memphis), Spectrum SportsNet LA Radio: 92.9

After a rough month of December, the Los Angeles Lakers were looking to get back on track to start the new year when they hosted the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night. Both teams were missing a number of key contributors due to injury, but it was the Lakers that came out on top with a 128-121 win to improve their record to 21-11.

Jake LaRavia's performance helped the Los Angeles Lakers secure a 128–121 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies at Crypto.com Arena.

Both the Los Angeles Lakers and Memphis Grizzlies may be without multiple key players in Friday night's matchup.

The Memphis Grizzlies are bringing back center Christian Koloko on a second 10-day contract, the team announced on Jan. 2. Koloko played in five games and made one start during his first 10-day contract. He averaged two points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 18.6 minutes per game.