Lakers pound Grizzlies by 40, advance to Round 2 of NBA playoffs - ESPN

LOS ANGELES — LeBron James vowed to be better for Friday's Game 6 of the Los Angeles Lakers' first-round series against the Memphis Grizzlies.

He kept his word, and his teammates kept up the pressure on the Grizzlies from the opening tip, destroying the No. 2-seeded Grizzlies 125-85 to win the series 4-2.

It took James 17 shots to make five in Game 5. On Friday, he made seven of his first eight, punctuating a dominant first-half performance with a two-handed reverse dunk in transition.

L.A. led by 17 at the half, and James had 16 points, one more than his Game 5 total. He finished with 22 points, six assists and five rebounds and made history in the process, winning the 40th playoff series of his career, tying Derek Fisher for the most all time.

«He's playing with a sense of urgency,» Lakers coach Darvin Ham said of the 20-year veteran before the game. «He knows there's only so many more of these [postseason runs] he's going to be able to participate in. So he's definitely been in the moment.»

The second half of Game 6 was merely an extended celebration for the Crypto.com Arena crowd, with the Lakers leading by as many as 40. The cheers were a long time coming, as the franchise completed its first home win to close out a playoff series since 2012, when it beat the Denver Nuggets in Game 7 in the first round.

Getting in on the redemption act with James was Lakers point guard D'Angelo Russell. After going 4-for-11 in Wednesday's loss in Memphis, he was 5-for-8 in the first quarter alone. Russell finished with a game-high 31 points on 12-for-17 shooting, setting a new career playoff high in scoring. He broke out of a playoff slump in a big way, having never shot 50% or better in a postseason game before.

And he did it with