'Old' LeBron James leaves the young Grizzlies on the brink after Game 4 | Giannotto

LOS ANGELES — Gut reactions from the Memphis Grizzlies' 117-111 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 4 of their first-round series Monday night at Crypto.com Arena.

LeBron James leaves Grizzlies on the brink

The final blow might well end up defining this entire series.

There was LeBron James, with the ball on the wing in overtime, bulling his way past Dillon Brooks — the Grizzlies player who audaciously called him "old" less than a week ago — for the and-one layup that put the Los Angeles Lakers in complete control. Of Game 4 and, as a result, of this first-round matchup.

In watching James push the Lakers to overtime and then push them over the top, Memphis got a glimpse into what it still must become if it's to make a postseason run. This season, or seasons beyond this.

Though the Grizzlies recovered from another ugly start on the road, even taking a 97-90 lead with less six minutes to go in regulation, it was James and Anthony Davis who rose to the occasion. It was Memphis who squandered a golden opportunity to score the type of playoff win that can swing an entire series, and now must ponder what comes next facing a 3-1 series deficit.

The Grizzlies were oh-so-close to closing this out in regulation in the most symbolic of ways.

What looked like it might be the sequence of the season featured a Jaren Jackson Jr. block, a ridiculously savvy behind-the-back pass by Ja Morant and a layup from Desmond Bane to grab a 104-102 lead with 6.7 seconds to go.

It was everything Memphis could have wanted, with the three foundational pieces of this young team contributing with a crucial playoff game hanging in the balance. But it was short-lived once James drove past Xavier Tillman Sr. and floated a layup off the glass and over the out-stretched arms of Jackson to force overtime.

An "old" man delivered, and a young team left Los Angeles dejected.

Desmond Bane resurfaces

Bane expressed frustration with his performance after Game 3, as foul trouble, uncharacteristically poor shooting and struggles finishing at the rim led to a rough start to this series. It looked to be more of the same when Game 4 began, with Bane unable to muster much like the rest of the team.

But he finally seemed to come alive when the Grizzlies were nearly on the brink, building up steam in the second quarter and then scoring nine points in the opening seven minutes after halftime to improbably give Memphis the lead. He was also the Grizzlies' best offense in the fourth quarter, steadying them initially by knocking down shots to eventually push their advantage to 97-90 at one point.

Though there were still issues scoring in traffic at the rim, and his 3-point stroke still wasn’t as deadly as it can be, the assertiveness and volume were welcome signs for a player who was this team’s most reliable weapon in its first round win over Minnesota last season. Bane finished with 36 points on 29 shot attempts, inefficient by his standards.

But on a night when scoring and shooting were ay a premium for Memphis, Bane came up huge with his shot-making and play-making.

Almost shot themselves out of it

The Grizzlies began this Game 4 with three buckets on their first shots and a 6-0 lead. The offense almost completely collapsed for long stretches of the first half after that. Memphis hit just 8 of its next 36 field goal attempts as the Lakers built a 15-point lead, despite minimal damage being done by James and Davis.

For awhile there, the Grizzlies just seemed demoralized. Bane was barely grazing the rim from long range. Davis and James combined for five blocks at the rim as Memphis again saw its forays into the paint consistently thwarted. The halfcourt sets were a stagnant mess and Los Angeles was again winning the fastbreak points battle, an under-discussed (and surprising) development throughout this series.

Worse yet: Nobody could hit a shot. Not Bane. Not Jackson. Certainly not Dillon Brooks. Only rookie David Roddy seemed to have any life to his game. So the Grizzlies were losing in a lopsided manner and the Lakers didn’t even need to play particularly well to do so.

But the latter part was worth emphasizing. The Lakers really aren’t that good. It’s why they’re the No. 7 seed, and so they left the door open for the Grizzlies. A combination of sloppy turnovers and lethargic play gave Memphis enough time to scrap together a strong close to the half.

When Bane pulled up for his first 3-pointer right before the halftime, Memphis had pulled off a 14-1 run and – somehow – trailed by just two points. It was close rest of the way, until the Lakers' superstar closed the door.

You can reach Commercial Appeal columnist Mark Giannotto via email at mgiannotto@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter: @mgiannotto

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: 'Old' LeBron James leaves young Grizzlies on the brink after Game 4