Due to the fact that the Los Angeles Lakers have only a sprinkling of games remaining in the regular season, each subsequent contest is critical, as LeBron James and Anthony Davis both participated in the second night of a back-to-back set on Wednesday.
The Lakers traveled to face the Washingtоn Wizards in an attempt to finish their journey with a respectable 5-1 record. A few weeks ago in Los Angeles, the Wizards required overtime to be defeated. However, that did not occur in this contest as the Lakers easily defeated the Wizards 125-120.
Washingtоn launched its offense with consecutive three-pointers from Deni Avdija and Jordan Poole. In the interim, Rui Hachimura scored for the Los Angeles Lakers with a midrange jumper in his first game back in Washingtоn following his transfer to the organization last season. However, early on, the Wizards struggled with 3-point shooting, as they failed on none of their first six attempts despite holding a 19-8 lead.
The Lakers, after a much-needed timeout, responded effectively with D’Angelo Russell making back-to-back three-pointers and four consecutive points. Following layups by James and Austin Reaves, the Lakers extended their lead to 16-2 and took their first-ever lead.
Anthony Davis received yet another forearm to the eye, a recurring occurrence of late, but he managed to recover and continue extending Los Angeles’ lead from the corner.
While the Wizards significantly calmed down from deep, Poole maintained his intensity to keep his team in the game. However, Davis maintained his dominance as the Lakers gained a 39-29 lead in the final quarter when he was fouled on a 3-pointer.
In the second half, the Lakers made some careless passes with the ball, which enabled the Wizards to score in transition and reduce their deficit to four. James received a Flagrant 1 penalty for colliding with Avdija with an elbow to the head. Nonetheless, he converted the rebound with a layup that passed the halftime buzzer and extended the Lakers’ lead to 67-60.
The Wizards began the third quarter sloppily, committing several turnovers that allowed the Lakers to swiftly gain a 14-point advantage on Russell’s three-pointer.
Poole was the sole Wizard who maintained his composure despite scoring in numerous ways. In contrast, they were unable to respond to Davis’s buzzer-beating layup, which extended the Lakers’ lead to 101-86 entering the fourth period.
Early in the fourth quarter, the Wizards went on a 15-0 run, regaining the lead as the Lakers squandered numerous opportunities to score.
Davis and James eventually restored order with dunks, but by the fourth-quarter, a game that had appeared to be a blowout had suԀԀenly become a competitive one.
From that point forward, Davis and James relentlessly attacked the basket. Reaves then made a two-digit lead-regaining connection from deep, and the Lakers cruised to a decisive triumph.
