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Lakers have three players record double-doubles in 108-103 win over Grizzlies

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Beating Memphis isn’t often pretty, and the Lakers did some dirty work for it in their 108-103 win over the Grizzlies on Sunday.

Three Lakers — Larry Nance Jr., Julius Randle and Thomas Robinson — earned double-doubles in the game, and though Los Angeles lost some positioning for next month’s draft lottery, it gained in experience at closing out games, this time against a short-handed Memphis team at Staples Center.

“Our guys are tired of losing,” Lakers coach Luke Walton said. “They’ve been playing hard. We’ve obviously been short-handed recently. We needed them on the glass tonight. Memphis is a slow-it-down, grind-it-out type of team. If you lose the rebound battle you make it really tough on yourself. The fact that all three of those guys were that active on the glass and coming in, attacking from the weak side on the defense and all that stuff, really helped us out.”

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With the win, the Lakers improved to 22-55. They now have the same record as the Phoenix Suns, both tied for the second-worst record in the NBA. The Lakers’ odds of securing a top-three pick fall the better their record is. If they finish the season tied for the second-worst record in the league, their odds of having a pick in the top three will be the same as the Suns’: 51.6%.

If the Lakers’ first-round pick drops out of the top three during next month’s draft lottery, they’ll surrender the pick to the Philadelphia 76ers and their 2019 first-rounder to the Orlando Magic. If the pick remains in the top three, next year’s first-round pick will go to Philadelphia, while the Lakers will owe Orlando a pair of second-round picks.

None of that mattered much to the players on the court, whose own goals were narrower.

“I learned in the NBA, you’re always being evaluated whether you clinch the playoffs [or not] or even at the end of the game playing, you know someone’s watching,” Lakers reserve guard Tyler Ennis said.

Memphis was missing its All-Star center, Marc Gasol, who has a foot injury. Vince Carter, the Grizzlies’ 40-year-old shooting guard, had a rest day.

The Lakers, meanwhile, played without two of their young big men. Center Ivica Zubac suffered a high ankle sprain against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday and won’t play again this season. Backup center Tarik Black suffered a minor knee sprain Saturday against the Clippers.

In their absence, the Lakers’ remaining big men made their presence felt. It was the first time since Dec. 26, 2014, that the Lakers had three players with double-doubles.

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Nance made his second start this season and grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds, with 12 points. Randle scored 18 points, with 11 rebounds, and Robinson came off the bench for 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Guard D’Angelo Russell recovered from a rocky opening to finish with 28 points, five assists and six rebounds.

“It just shows how hard we have to work to win,” Russell said.

“And everybody played their part.”

The Lakers led after the first half, 50-49, holding an opponent under 50 points in the first half for only the 15th time this season. They trailed 80-79 after three quarters. Brandan Wright, who started for Memphis at center, scored 10 third-quarter points as the Grizzlies made 60% of their shots. Randle and Russell also contributed 10 points each in the period.

With 5 minutes 44 seconds left, the score was tied at 90. Jordan Clarkson, Nance, Ran-dle, Russell and Ennis closed out the game, punching back every time the Grizzlies threatened to pull ahead.

Memphis tied the score again at 97, but the Lakers held off their push.

Randle made two free throws with 5.3 seconds left to give the Lakers their final margin.

“I think down the stretch we did a better job of making plays, which we’ve struggled with throughout the season, especially since we traded Lou [Williams] away,” Walton said. “I think just the activity level the guys had. The bench did a really good job. Thomas Robinson was great for us. Tyler was steady making some smart basketball plays. Corey [Brewer] in the limited minutes he played. We got a good team effort tonight.”

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tania.ganguli@latimes.com

Follow Tania Ganguli on Twitter @taniaganguli

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