LeBron didn’t trade trash talk with Brooks until Game 3

LeBron James refused to respond to Memphis forward Dillon Brooks’ comments.

SECOND, California. (AP) LeBron James has seemed wise beyond his years since the beginning of his basketball journey, and he wasn’t about to fall into the Dillon Brooks conversation going into a pivotal game for the Los Angeles Lakers.

James refused to respond to the Memphis Grizzlies’ top agitator on Friday when Brooks said the leading scorer in NBA history was old after Game 2 of the teams’ first-round playoff series, which resumes Saturday night (10 ET, ESPN) in Los Angeles.

The 38-year-old James patiently deflected several questions about Brooks’ comments and the importance of trash talk in general before abruptly ending the media session at the Lakers’ practice facility. James never said Brooks’ name, but he clearly knew who was behind the story trying to get into a contending franchise after two eventful games in Memphis.

I’m ready to play, James said. That’s it.

Also on Saturday in the Eastern Conference, the Philadelphia 76ers look to sweep the Brooklyn Nets in Game 4 before the Heat host the top-ranked Bucks in Game 3 to even the score at 1-1 after Miami won the opener in Milwaukee.

James has won four NBA titles and four league MVP awards, on top of virtually every other possible accomplishment in the modern game during his 20 seasons. The 27-year-old Brooks, who is older than the median and average age of current NBA players, has won one playoff series in his six-year career.

So a playoff contest would be a blowout win for James, but he wasn’t about to play those kinds of games with Brooks, who described his general philosophy after Game 2 as, “I’m going to beat the bears.”

At the end of the day, there are 10 guys on the floor, James said. They are one of the best defensive teams in the league and we have to respect that. Regardless of who’s out there in a Grizzlies uniform during that time, during that quarter, during that minute, we’ve got to respect everybody and we’ve got to execute offensively.

James returns to work against Brooks and the Grizzlies on a landmark night in Lakers history: For the first time in 10 years, and for the first time in a lineup of James and Anthony Davis, this 17-time NBA champion franchise will endure a playoff game in front of its home crowd.

The Lakers missed the playoffs in six straight seasons after losing in the first round to San Antonio in 2013, and their 2020 title run came in the Florida bubble. They hosted three playoff games in a first-round loss to the Phoenix Suns in 2021, but attendance was less than half due to COVID-19 restrictions.

“I’m looking forward to it,” James said.

And Morants availability for Game 3 remains unclear after he missed Game 2 with a sore right hand, but the Grizzlies star appears to be on the mend quickly. He went through a non-contact drill and individual drills Friday in Los Angeles, but coach Taylor Jenkins said they’ll wait until game time to decide whether to play hell.