The Los Angeles Lakers earned their second win of the season Wednesday night, coming back to defeat the Washington Wizards 102-99 in overtime.
For much of the fourth quarter and overtime period, all five Lakers on the floor were under the age of 25, which Brandon Ingram complimented head coach Luke Walton for trusting the young guys to complete the comeback.
The players rewarded their head coach, as Ingram tied the game up with 0.7 seconds left with a layup to send it to overtime and then the defense led the way in the extra period.
Ingram struggled for much of the game but came alive in the second half as 15 of his 19 points came after halftime. Lakers head coach Luke Walton commented on Ingram closing out the game, saying that it’s something that he 100 percent wants to be, via Lakers Nation reporter Serena Winters:
“He definitely has that ability and we have that confidence in him to make those kinds of plays. 100 percent he wants it (to be a closer). Some people you feel like they say they want it, but in their eyes you can tell, they’re just saying it because their supposed to say it, Brandon he truly wants those type of moments.”
Ingram closing out games this season has been the plan all along, as before training camp even started Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka said he believes Ingram would be the team’s primary playmaker late in games.
It has been an up and down season so far for the second-year pro, so it was nice to see him take over a game late and lead his team to a victory over a quality opponent in the Wizards. It will be interesting to see how Ingram follows up Wednesday night’s performance Friday when the Lakers host the Toronto Raptors.