After a rough loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Los Angeles Lakers looked to get back on track on Friday night when they continued their road trip against the Washington Wizards.
This was a very winnable game for the Lakers on paper with the Wizards being in the second night of a back-to-back and Austin Reaves returning to the lineup. That is exactly how things played out as the Lakers dominated the Wizards, winning 142-111 to improve their record to 29-18.
It was a great start for the Lakers as Luka Doncic and LeBron James both found Deandre Ayton for lobs. The Lakers’ two stars also connected on triples to jump out to a 19-11 lead. Doncic was questionable for this game after rolling his ankle on Wednesday, but he was showing no signs of being hobbled early.
In fact, Doncic was absolutely dominant in the first quarter, finding open looks for himself and his teammates. That included finding Jaxson Hayes, who will be participating in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest, for three dunks. After a 16-point quarter by Doncic, the Lakers took a 41-27 lead into the second.
James kept the momentum going in the second quarter as he threw down a big alley-oop with his left hand on a pass from Ayton. Doncic then came back in the game and rewarded Ayton for running the floor with back-to-back dunks.
The Lakers continued to pour it on the end the half, taking a 77-48 lead into the locker room. Doncic had a triple-double in the first half alone with 26 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists.
The start of the third quarter was more of the same as Doncic continued to make ridiculous shots while James threw down a reverse alley-oop.
After leading by as many as 38, the Lakers naturally let go of the rope a little bit to end the third quarter, although they still took a comfortable 108-84 advantage into the fourth.
The Lakers quickly restored order to begin the final quarter as the bench unit quickly got the lead back up to 28, putting the game out of reach for good. That allowed the starters to get plenty of rest, which is much-needed at the end of a long road trip.
Doncic only needed to play 31 minutes in the victory and finished with 37 points, 11 rebounds, 13 assists and three steals.
What’s next for the Lakers…
The Lakers will close out their longest road trip of the season against the New York Knicks on Sunday and then the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday before heading home.
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