LeBron's 20-20 vision

When LeBron James got back to the Los Angeles locker room after Game 4, his fellow Lakers greeted him with a symphony of bleats.

They were simply saluting the GOAT in his own language to celebrate a performance that was anything but old — and a gritty win that put the Lakers on the brink of the second round.

James made the tying layup with 0.8 seconds left in regulation before scoring four of his 22 points in overtime, and the Lakers surged to a 3-1 lead in their first-round playoff series with a 117-111 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night.

The 38-year-old James also grabbed a career playoff-high 20 rebounds for the first 20-20 game of his 20-year career. The top scorer in NBA history added seven assists and two blocked shots while committing just one turnover in his record 270th playoff game.

"I just try to be as great as I can be offensively, but more importantly on the defensive end," James said. "That was the mindset tonight. I was able to make a couple of plays. ... My teammates told me I had 20 and 20. It's the first time I've done it in my career, so that's pretty cool, I guess."

James never responded with words after Dillon Brooks dismissed him as "old" following Game 2 last week, but his play continues to make the Grizzlies' agitator look just as hubristic and foolish as he sounded. It has also put the second-seeded Grizzlies on the precipice of first-round elimination.

Austin Reaves scored 23 points and Anthony Davis had five of his 12 in overtime for the seventh-seeded Lakers, who won two straight home games to move one win shy of their first playoff series victory outside the Florida bubble since 2012.

"He just took over down the stretch," Davis said of James. "Got us a bucket to get to overtime. ... All our guys, it was a good team effort. This team is not going to go away."

Los Angeles surged back from a seven-point deficit with five minutes left in regulation with a rally that abruptly began when D'Angelo Russell hit three consecutive 3-pointers, and the Lakers never trailed in OT.

"I'm so proud of our guys, the way we fought," Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. "We found a way."

Desmond Bane scored 36 points and hit a tie-breaking layup with 6.7 seconds left in regulation for the Grizzlies, who will have to rally from a 3-1 series deficit and win a Game 7 for the first time in franchise history to advance. Bane scored 14 points in the fourth quarter, but was held scoreless in overtime, missing his only two shots.

"Obviously, LeBron gets to his right hand, which can't happen at the end of the game," Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said. "Some breakdowns for us. Very disappointing loss."

Ja Morant scored 19 points with his injured right hand, but Davis blocked his jumper at the regulation buzzer. The Grizzlies then missed six of their first eight shots in overtime while committing two key turnovers.

Agencies Via Xinhua