Watch Lakers trio of LeBron, Doncic, Reaves combine for 85 points, Lakers get key win over Grizzlies

New coach in place, Ja Morant back from injury… same result for the Memphis Grizzlies.

Behind their offensive trio of LeBron James, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves — who combined for 85 points and 25 assists — the Lakers dominated the final six minutes of Saturday’s game and with that took control of the No. 4 seed in the West with a 134-127 win.

That victory puts the Lakers alone as the No. 4 seed in the West, 1.5 games behind the Nuggets for the No. 3 seed. The Grizzlies are the No. 5 seed but just 1.5 games up on the Warriors and Clippers, who are tied for 6/7, and the No. 8 Timberwolves are just two games back of Memphis. Just 4.5 games separate third and eighth in a very tight West.

Which is why this Lakers win mattered so much. Knowing it was a critical game, Lakers coach J.J. Redick said he gathered LeBron, Doncic and Reaves together earlier in the day.

“We challenged all three of them, when we get to their three-man actions, to play with a little more force and a little more thrust and a little more creativity. We were able to get some great stuff in the fourth quarter off that…” Redick said.

“We played as well as we’ve played so far, offensively.”

Memphis has lost 5-of-6 and things don’t get easier with the Celtics and Warriors as the next two teams coming to town. It was unfair timing for interim coach Tuomas Iisalo, who was thrust into the head coaching job on Friday after the surprise firing of Taylor Jenkins. Fair or not, he and a healthy lineup need to get some wins soon or they risk falling back into the play-in.