LeBron James glared at the Lakers bench, another opportunity squandered, another Grizzlies point delivered.

There wasn’t much else he could do Wednesday night in the final game of the Lakers’ first road trip. He had attacked mismatches. He had been hitting home triples. He fought like hell with Memphis’ massive front line.

His team was short-handed. Anthony Davis’ heel contusion, an injury he suffered Monday in Detroit, kept him out of action. An illness did the same to Rui Hachimura.

Unlike the losses in Cleveland and Detroit that ensured this trip would be a flop, this wasn’t about fighting. That’s what the Lakers signed up for.

But when his team saw a two-point deficit turn into an 11-point deficit after Memphis hit three straight threes, James looked to the bench.

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It wasn’t anger. It was an annoyance. The Lakers would ultimately lose 131-114, and he couldn’t stop it.

James was great: he scored 39 points, made six threes and played with force. His team did too. They just couldn’t make shots.

D’Angelo Russell put his hands on his head in disbelief when a three rattled off. Austin Reaves yelled at himself after one of his seven misses. And Dalton Knecht, getting his first career NBA start, missed all but one of his seven shots from three, including an airball.

Meanwhile, Memphis punished the Lakers with mini flurries from their role players. Rookie Jaylen Wells hit back-to-back threes. So did former Lakers two-way center Jay Huff. Scotty Pippen Jr., another former Lakers prospect, posed on his former bench after hitting one of his three threes.

Ja Morant, who scored twenty points, had to leave the game with a hamstring injury. But considering Grizzlies made 17 threes, they had more than enough.

In addition to the cold shooting, Knecht had to leave the game after being elbowed in the face by Jake LaRavia. After having his jaw examined on the sidelines, he went back to the locker room.

The Lakers finished their trip 1-4. They play Philadelphia at home on Friday, a stretch that will see six of their next eight games in their own building.

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This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.