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Grizzlies starve force-fed Young and Bryant, improve to 13-2

Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

The Los Angeles Lakers wanted to force feed Nick Young to break him out of his shooting slump and had altered Kobe Bryant's regimen for better fourth-quarter performance. The Memphis Grizzlies are just too damn good for those things to matter.

The Grizzlies improved to 13-2 on Wednesday with a 99-93 victory at Staples Center, dropping the moribund Lakers to 3-12. The quantity and quality of Memphis wings made it a tough night for Young and Bryant, who tried their best to shoulder the offensive load but just couldn't get their shots to fall.

Bryant at least got to the line 10 times, allowing him to finish with 22 points despite 5-of-15 shooting. He wasn't able to buck his trend of poor performances late, though, shooting 1-of-5 in the fourth quarter for only four points as the Grizzlies kept the Lakers at arm's length.

Young, meanwhile, shot 4-of-14 for just 13 points, dropping his field goal percentage to 34.5 percent through five games since returning from a thumb injury that cost him the team's first 10 games. The world isn't a fair place when a person like Swaggy P has to suffer through a slump, but there's little doubt he'll fight his way through it, smiling, shooting and swagging out.

On the other side, the Grizzlies were the Grizzlies. Marc Gasol had 19 points, 11 rebounds and four assists, Mike Conley played his standard, understated but effective game, Zach Randolph scored inside and the offense as a whole was just efficient enough for the defense to win the game.

Oh, also, Ronnie Price did this to Beno Udrih:

g33's post on Vine

The Lakers have a winnable matchup now Friday when they host the Minnesota Timberwolves, while Memphis travels to Portland to try and make yet another statement against a Western Conference contender.

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