Lakers starters hang 113 points on Wizards
Anthony Davis had 35 points to go along with 18 rebounds and all five Los Angeles starters scored in double figures as the Lakers capped a 5-1 road trip with a 125-120 victory over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night, April 3 (Thursday, April 4, Manila time).
Reserves only accounted for 12 of Los Angeles’ points, with LeBron James supplying 25 points, Rui Hachimura posting 19 on 9-of-12 shooting from the floor, and D’Angelo Russell adding 18.
Austin Reaves rounded out the starting five with 16 points. James also had 7 rebounds and 9 assists for the Lakers (44-33).
The starters’ contributions gave Los Angeles its eighth win in the past nine games while comfortably keeping the Lakers in a Western Conference play-in spot.
With both teams playing on the second night of a back-to-back, Washington started out looking like the fresher team when it ran out to an 11-point lead early in the first quarter.
The advantage was fleeting, however, as Los Angeles runs of 14-0 in the opening period gave the Lakers a lead they never relinquished.
Despite losing Deni Avdija (migraine) for the second half, the Wizards (15-62) did not go away quietly. They rallied to pull within two points, 107-105, on Justin Champagnie’s dunk with 7:13 left in the game.
However, Los Angeles responded with 12 unanswered points to put the game away.
Jordan Poole went 5-for-9 from three-point range en route to a team-high 29 points.
Kyle Kuzma recorded a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds, Corey Kispert added another 17 points, and Tristan Vukcevic scored 15 points.
For the Lakers, Hachimura grabbed 7 boards, and Davis had 3 blocks and 2 steals while registering his 61st double-double of the season.
Davis had 21 points and 9 rebounds before the break, helping the Lakers take a 67-60 edge into intermission.
Los Angeles sits at ninth place in the West, five games ahead of the Houston Rockets, the first team out of a play-in spot.
– Rappler.com