Anthony Davis scored 19 of his 35 points in the first quarter and grabbed 18 rebounds to help the Los Angeles Lakers defeat the Washington Wizards 125-120 on Wednesday night. This win marks their eighth victory in nine games.
LeBron James contributed with 25 points and nine assists, while Rui Hachimura scored 19 points for the Lakers against his former team. Davis made 10 of his 17 field goal attempts and went 15 for 15 from the free-throw line. Jordan Poole led the Wizards with 29 points.
Currently, the Lakers hold the ninth position in the Western Conference, meaning they would need to win twice in the play-in tournament to secure a spot in the main playoff bracket. However, they are striving to improve their standing. They trailed Phoenix and Sacramento by 1 1/2 games before Wednesday’s game.
The Wizards are one loss away from matching their franchise record of 63 losses.
Washington started strong, making their first five 3-point attempts and taking an early 19-8 lead. However, after Anthony Davis recovered from taking an elbow to the nose, he dominated the first quarter, making 11 free throws and helping the Lakers to a 39-29 lead.
Los Angeles extended their lead to 76-62 after a 9-2 run at the start of the third quarter. Despite Washington closing the gap to two points in the fourth quarter, a 12-0 run by the Lakers, sparked by LeBron James, secured the victory.
The Lakers had seemingly secured the win when they removed James and Davis from the game, but the Wizards managed to score eight straight points to make it 125-120. However, a block by Davis on a 3-point attempt by Jared Butler sealed the victory for the Lakers.
