Lakers News: Shorthanded L.A. Wins Thriller Against Wizards, 119-117
On Lawrence Tanter Night, your shorthanded Los Angeles Lakers did their 40-year PA announcer proud by holding on to beat the visiting Washington Wizards 119-117 in a back-and-forth affair that brought out the best in remaining L.A. All-Star LeBron James.
With both Anthony Davis and Patrick Beverley sidelined due to injury, head coach Darvin Ham had some decisions to make in his starting lineup. Ultimately, he elevated Austin Reaves to starting shooting guard and, in an expected move, Thomas Bryant to starting center. Both players responded well to their respective promotions.
James and Reaves were the high scorers for L.A. during a relatively even first quarter for both sides. LBJ also showed off his crazy court vision with this outlet to sixth man Russell Westbrook:
Rookie shooting guard Max Christie was Darvin Ham's second player called in off the bench, behind only Russell Westbrook. The 3-and-D swingman has emerged as a legitimate rotation option for an L.A. team desperate for more perimeter help. He scored five of his eight points for the game (on 3-of-6 shooting) in the first quarter.
The Lakers led the Wizards by a point, 30-29, at the break.
L.A. created some separation late in the second quarter, thanks in large part to ageless wonder LeBron James, still playing at an All-Star clip just days ahead of his 38th birthday. Watch him spring into this backdoor cut on an Austin Reaves dish:
With Davis and Wenyen Gabriel both out of the lineup, Damian Jones finally got to play some non-garbage time minutes once again. The 6'11" ex-Warrior did not disappoint, showing off his aptitude at finishing around the rim throughout an active first half:
The Lakers wound up outscoring the Wizards 36-23 in the second half. Los Angeles accordingly led the way at the halftime break, 66-52. Through the game's first two quarters, LeBron James had 15 points and six rebounds, Lonnie Walker IV had 13 points on 4-of-5 field goal shooting, Russ fans were on early triple-double alert thanks to Brodie's eight points, five rebounds and five assists, and Jones had eight points of his own, all off those masterful slams.
Early in the third quarter, LeBron James landed awkwardly on a drive against Wizards small forward Deni Avdija, grabbing at this thigh for a bit before ultimately shaking it off and trying to play through the ailment.
Thomas Bryant, Anthony Davis's other available understudy on the night, flashed plenty of his own exciting rim-rolling athleticism in the second half (they counted the basket due to clear goal-tending from Wizards center Kristaps Porzingis), off a LeBron James between-the-legs dime, no less:
High-flying histrionics aside, the Lakers' offense mostly dried up in the third period. The team was roundly outplayed by Washington, 36-21.
In more frustrating news, Austin Reaves rolled his ankle in the quarter and had to hop off to the locker room to get the ankle taped up by L.A.'s training staff, per Mike Trudell of Lakers.com
Washington led at the end of the frame by a hair, 88-87.
Reaves returned in the fourth at the 10:27 mark for just about one minute, before heading right back to the locker room as the ankle continued to pester him.
This marks the second time in two games that a player has hurt their foot, gone to the Crypto.com Arena locker room to get the injury looked at, returned temporarily, and then left for the locker room once again. What the heck is wrong with L.A.'s medical staff? Why are they being so flippant about these injuries?
Granted, Reaves did return to the floor once again, and played well, albeit with a noticeable limp, the rest of the way.
In terms of happier times for L.A.'s few good wing players, Walker got some serious hang time thanks to a fun give-and-go with James:
The Wizards went on a 7-0 run to open the fourth quarter, but the Lakers answered with an 11-0 tear of their own to take the lead, 98-95, capped off by a LeBron James heat-check step-back triple:
Fascinatingly, Ham opted to bring back a clearly-hampered Walker with 2:08 remaining in a close game over Russell Westbrook, who as we know is prone to terrible decisions late in games.
It was a relatively back-and-forth affair down the stretch of regulation. The contest was knotted up at 115-115 with half a minute remaining.
LeBron James then just sneakily walked the ball up to the court before slicing into the lane for an easy slam against a snoozing Washington defense:
Not to be outdone, Wizards star shooting guard Bradley Beal drew contact on an up-and-under layup try, and though the ball bounced around and ultimately off the rim, he got to the line and promptly nailed both his free throws.
When the Lakers got the ball back, LeBron James made sure to move deliberately at first, hoping to find an easy bucket. He then botched a bounce-pass attempt through Kyle Kuzma's legs. Kuzma grabbed the rock, LeBron snagged it back as Kuzma toppled over, then dished out a powerful pass to an expectant and wide open Thomas Bryant beneath the basket, who dunked in the winning two points.
James finished with his fourth straight 30+ game, scoring 33 points on 13-of-24 shooting from the floor and 6-of-8 shooting from the free-throw line. He also chipped in nine dishes and seven boards, plus one block.
Walker was the team's second-leading scorer with 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field (2-of-4 from deep) and 5-of-5 shooting from the free-throw line.
Bryant finished with a 16-point, 10-rebound double-double, plus two assists. Six of those 16 points came off three-pointers, as he went 2-of-2 from deep tonight! He's actually been a solid three-point shooter this season, knocking down 42.9% of his tries, albeit on a fairly minuscule 0.9 attempts a night.
In 16:40 (essentially supplanting Bryant's minutes with Bryant elevated to a starting gig), Jones scored eight points on 4-of-6 shooting, all in the first half, and grabbed two rebounds.
All five Lakers starters finished in double-digit scoring. Off the bench, Westbrook didn't quite get that triple-double, though he also played relatively limited minutes, finishing with nine points, nine rebounds and eight assists in 22:51.
The victory improves L.A.'s record to 13-16 on the season. But there's no rest for the wicked. Tomorrow, the Lakers will face the Phoenix Suns, who after losing five straight games earlier this month have managed to stabilize a bit, and currently occupy the fourth seed in the West.
