The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Washington Wizards this Wednesday (120-125) in a game of ups and downs that Anthony Davis and LeBron James controlled although they could not finish until the end
The Lakers (44-33) closed a six-game road trip with their fifth victory from which they emerge fighting to climb positions in the NBA Western Conference, where they are ninth.
After starting losing, the Lakers achieved comfortable leads in the first, third and last quarters, but they let the Wizards, who had just beaten the powerful Milwaukee Bucks, get closer each time.
Coach Darvin Ham had brought on the less common players two minutes from the end of a game that he considered won, but he sat them down 17 seconds later to let Anthony Davis and LeBron James resolve the game.
Ham said at a news conference that it was a “teaching moment” for the substitutes.
Davis was the best of the Lakers with a double-double of 35 points (19 in the first quarter) and 18 rebounds. James contributed 25 points, 7 rebounds and 9 assists.
The top scorer for the Wizards (15-62) was Jordan Poole, with 29 points, although his +/- balance was the worst on the team at -32. The Wizards are one loss away from matching their worst season with five games left to play.
The two faces of the Wizards
The Washington Wizards took to the court with the confidence that comes from having knocked down Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Milwaukee Bucks the day before (117-113), but the capital team did not take long to show its usual face this season.
In those initial 4 minutes that the mirage lasted, the Wizards went up 19-8, but the Los Angeles Lakers only needed a timeout to cut their rhythm.
Lebron James made his only basket of the first quarter to put the Lakers ahead 21-23, within a 2-18 partial of total disconnection by the Wizards.
The quarter had turned yellow, thanks above all to a very dominant Anthony Davis in the paint who scored 19 points and left it 29-39 in the light.
Ham left Davis on the bench to start the second quarter and the Lakers faltered, allowing the Wizards to close the gap. The locals managed to lead 51-53, but they were unable to complete the effort.
Little by little the Lakers expanded their advantage again and closed the score at halftime at 60-67, leaving the Wizards as winners of the quarter (31-28) but with a lot of work to do if they wanted to repeat the feat of the previous day.
A mirage called Washington
The Lakers took the Wizards’ warning seriously and in less than two minutes of the second half they put a maximum advantage of +14 (62-76) on the scoreboard. Brian Keefe called a timeout but the damage was already done.
The Californians knew how to play with that cushion throughout the third quarter, successful in attack (56% field goals, 14 of 25) and dominant in rebounding (10-15).
When the horn sounded the Lakers were ahead 86-101 and the body language of the local players was one of defeat.
But the excitement returned to the Capital One Arena when no one was expecting it with two triples in a row from newcomer Tristan Vukcevic. The Wizards ate up the Lakers’ lead to a 101-103 score that put them back in the game with a lot to play for.
The Lakers’ reaction to feeling the Wizards’ breath on their necks was the same as in the second quarter: hitting the accelerator. The Wizards did not bother the Californians, who with apparent ease went back to within 14 with two minutes left until the horn.
Darvin Ham had to bring out his starters again with 17 seconds left when he had already brought on the substitutes, who had allowed the Wizards to get closer to 120-125 and with possession in their favor. In the end, everything remained a mirage.
