LOS ANGELES – As Anthony Davis finished his victory lap, from the postgame ESPN interview to the locker room, with a private moment with Lakers exec Rob Pelinka in between, an unmistakable chant loud enough for nearby reporters to hear emerged from a roomful of players waiting to greet him.
Whoop that trick. Whoop that trick. Whoop that trick.
The Lakers' borrowing of the phrase—made famous by Terrence Howard in Hustle & Flow and adopted by the Grizzlies to celebrate wins—was cutting. But earned. Friday’s 125-85 series clincher wasn’t a win. It was a shellacking. L.A. led by 11 points after the first quarter. They led by 17 at the half. By the third quarter, the lead was 36 and Kenneth Lofton Jr., Ziaire Williams and the rest of Memphis’s reserves were tightening their shoelaces. The Lakers shot 53.8% in this one. The Grizzlies shot 30.2%.
