NBA: Wizards spoil LeBron James’ historic night, beat Lakers
Deni Avdija #9 of the Washington Wizards celebrates with teammates Kristaps Porzingis #6 and Tomas Satoransky #31 against the Los Angeles Lakers during the second half at Capital One Arena on March 19, 2022 in Washington, DC. Patrick Smith/Getty Images/AFP
Kristaps Porzingis scored 16 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter to lead seven players in double figures as the Washington Wizards rallied to snap a six-game losing streak, beating the visiting Los Angeles Lakers 127-119 on Saturday.
The win overshadowed a monumental night for Los Angeles star LeBron James, who had 38 points and passed Karl Malone for second on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.
Washington trailed by as many as 16 before taking its first lead of the game at 107-106 on Porzingis’ three-point play with 7:26 left in the fourth quarter.
Porzingis drains the CLUTCH 3 for the @WashWizards! pic.twitter.com/4XA9oXKq81
— NBA (@NBA) March 20, 2022
James scored with 2:33 left to put the Lakers ahead 116-115 before Deni Avdija’s 3-pointer with 1:02 left capped a 7-0 run and gave the Wizards a 122-116 lead.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope posted 18 points and 10 rebounds against his former team while Avdija and Daniel Gafford added 17 points apiece for Washington, which outscored the Lakers 34-20 in the fourth quarter. Tomas Satoransky had a season-high 16 points, Corey Kispert added 13 and Rui Hachimura had 10.
Russell Westbrook tallied 22 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists for Los Angeles, which has lost 12 of its last 13 road games. Malik Monk scored 17 points, Carmelo Anthony added 13 and Stanley Johnson had 12.
The Lakers took control early and led 36-26 after shooting 65.2 percent in the first quarter.
James scored on a cutting layup with 5:20 left in the second quarter to move past Malone with 36,930 points. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar sits atop the league’s all-time scoring list at 38,387 points.
👑 2nd All Time in Scoring. Year 19.
Watch Now on NBA League Pass: https://t.co/oz9UCQxdQa pic.twitter.com/oVhcJRNnl0
— NBA (@NBA) March 20, 2022
James scored 23 points on 10-of-16 shooting in the first half for the Lakers, who held a 67-58 advantage at the break.
The Lakers led by 14 with 2:37 left in the third quarter before the Wizards closed the quarter on a 10-2 run. Satoransky’s trey at the buzzer cut the gap to 99-93 entering the final quarter.
James finished with 10 rebounds and six assists while shooting 16 of 29 from the field and 4 of 10 from beyond the arc.
Hachimura made his first start of the season in place of Kyle Kuzma, who sat out with a right knee injury.
