LOS ANGELES – LeBron James notched 21 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds on Monday night, steering the Los Angeles Lakers to a 120-101 victory over the Washington Wizards at Crypto.com Arena.
The March 30 matchup marked the club’s first game after a two-day break, but Los Angeles still took the floor without two starters: Luka Doncic served a one-game suspension and Marcus Smart remained sidelined with an injury. Even so, the Lakers capitalized on facing one of the league’s bottom teams and collected their third straight win, moving to 49-28 and pulling within one game of both 50 victories and a confirmed postseason berth.
Los Angeles opened with a 6-0 burst that included an alley-oop from Austin Reaves to James. Washington countered, briefly grabbing a 12-11 edge that prompted an early timeout from head coach JJ Redick. The Wizards carried a 26-25 advantage into the second quarter after a buzzer-beating layup.
Reserve center Jaxson Hayes shifted the momentum with three emphatic dunks during an 11-0 Lakers run early in the second period. Former Wizard Rui Hachimura added efficient scoring, hitting his first three shots, and Reaves distributed nine assists before halftime as the Lakers built a 65-44 cushion.
Washington slashed the margin to 10 in a sluggish third quarter for Los Angeles, but back-to-back three-pointers from Luke Kennard restored order and produced a 91-77 lead entering the fourth. James then keyed a 6-0 spurt to start the final frame, pushing the gap back to 20 and allowing the Lakers to cruise the rest of the way. Hayes capped the night with a rare three-pointer.
The Lakers return to action Tuesday when they host the Cleveland Cavaliers to complete a back-to-back.
Source: LakersNation.com
