Wizards, Lakers and Grizzlies Capture Much-Needed Wins in Busy NBA Night
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Wizards 120, Magic 112
At Capital One Arena on Tuesday, Washington watched a 26-point cushion evaporate before CJ McCollum restored order with 27 points in a 120-112 victory over Orlando.
The Wizards appeared in full control after Justin Champagnie’s three-pointer pushed the margin to 89-63 midway through the third quarter. The Magic, however, closed the period by trimming the deficit to 14 and pulled within 107-105 on a Goga Bitadze layup with just over five minutes remaining.
McCollum responded by setting up Alex Sarr for an alley-oop, hitting a mid-range jumper, and drilling back-to-back threes. His final triple stretched the lead to 117-107 with 1:52 left, sealing Washington’s fifth win in seven games. Sarr supplied 23 points as the Wizards continued their turnaround after a 3-20 start.
Lakers 111, Pelicans 103
In Los Angeles, the Lakers leaned on late shot-making from LeBron James and Luka Doncic to hand New Orleans its eighth straight defeat, 111-103.
James poured in 30 points, while Doncic matched him with 30 points and 10 assists, including two off-balance, shot-clock-beating three-pointers that stifled a Pelicans rally. Deandre Ayton added 18 points and 11 rebounds as the Lakers secured their fourth win in five outings.
New Orleans received a career-high 41 points from Trey Murphy, 15 from Zion Williamson and a 10-point, 13-rebound double-double from rookie Derik Queen. The Pelicans led by nine late in the third quarter before Los Angeles opened the final period on an 18-4 surge highlighted by two deep threes from James. The Lakers never allowed the gap to shrink below four the rest of the way.
Grizzlies 106, Spurs 105
Memphis snapped a four-game skid by edging San Antonio 106-105 at FedExForum, thanks to Cam Spencer’s late heroics.
Spencer finished with 21 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, scoring five of the Grizzlies’ final seven points. His 10-foot baseline jumper with 36.5 seconds left proved decisive. On the Spurs’ last possession, De’Aaron Fox’s pull-up from the foul line was blocked by Santi Aldama.
Victor Wembanyama returned from a two-game absence to score 30 points for San Antonio, but Jaren Jackson Jr. matched Spencer with 21 for Memphis, and Jock Landale contributed 19 for the Spurs in a contest that featured 16 lead changes.
Source: Hoops Wire
