LeBron James was too much for the visiting D.C. side.
The Washington Wizards dropped their second game in a row at Crpyto.com Arena, falling to the Los Angeles Lakers, 122-109.
The Wiz started off ice-cold from three-point land, connecting on just one of their first nine attempts from distance. But they rallied to close the first with a 9-0 run, including two triples from Rui Hachimura.
The Japanese national was perfect in the first half. He finished with 13 points on a spotless 5-for-5 shooting clip to go alone with five rebounds as Washington took a 59-52 lead into the break.
The second half, however, completely belonged to LeBron James. The Lakers star went off, finishing with 50 points on 18-for-25 shooting in the contest. LeBron more than doubled his 17-point first half total in the third quarter alone, pouring in 19 points in the frame to permanently turn the tide in LA’s favor.
Kyle Kuzma tallied 23 points and seven rebounds against his former club while Kristaps Porzingis garnered his first double-double as a Wizard with 14 points and 14 rebounds. Corey Kispert was arguably the biggest bright spot for Washington with career highs in points (21) and three-pointers made (5).
With the loss, the Wizards fall 2.5 games back from a play-in tournament spot as both the Hornets and Hawks were victorious on Friday night.
They’ll have a chance to redeem themselves on Saturday as they take a quick trip to Portland against an undermanned Trail Blazers squad.