Lakers Continue Their Dominant Play and Finish Road Trip 5-1

Lakers Continue Their Dominant Play and Finish Road Trip 5-1

Time Stamp: April 4, 2024 10:34 AM
Source Node: 2536024

Off the second night of a back-to-back, the Lakers were at Capitol One Arena to face the Wizards in another must-win game. Washington has the second worst record in the league, and the Lakers can no longer afford ill-advised losses. 

The game began a little sloppy for the Lakers, as the Wizards started 5-5 from three. The Washington offense would eventually cool down, allowing the Lakers to get inside and ultimately take a commanding lead. 

Anthony Davis was able to dominate the paint early, shooting a career high 11 free-throws in the first quarter. He had an astounding 19 points and 6 rebounds, giving the Lakers a 10-point lead heading into the second quarter.  

That’s when it was LeBron James’ turn to carry the offensive load, and was able to replicate their interior advantage. The Lakers took a 7-point lead into halftime and eyed to keep up their dominance in the paint.

In the third quarter, D’Angelo Russell joined the offensive party and knocked down a triple to give the Lakers a 14-point lead. On top of the Lakers’ big three continuing their tear, the Wizards couldn’t buy a basket until the fourth quarter.

The Lakers took their foot off the gas petal, resulting in a Washington 15-0 run to cut the lead to three. With their patented pick and roll offense, Davis and LeBron brought the lead back up to six with eight minutes remaining in the contest.

Once all the starters returned to the game, the Lakers held the Wizards to a three-minute scoring drought, hopping back up to a 14-point lead with two minutes remaining.

With only 17.4 seconds left, the Wizards cut the lead to 5 forcing the Lakers to re-insert LeBron and Davis. After a chaotic fourth quarter, the Lakers defeated the Wizards 125-120, in an unfortunate nail biter, given the Lakers’ circumstances.

Los Angeles finished 29 of 25 from the free throw line which is accredited to their inside advantage.

Davis, who finished with 35 points and 18 rebounds reflected on the 6 game road trip. “I like how we approached the road trip, every team was capable of beating us, but we came in and locked in defensively to be able to go 5-1 on the trip.”

This win leaves the Lakers just two games behind the Mavericks who are in the five spot. With five games remaining, and the standings constantly shifting, the Lakers just need to focus on getting wins.

Their next matchup is against a hungry Cavalier team, who themselves are looking to fight for a better playoff spot in the East.

Stay tuned for more Lakers news and updates. Make sure to also check out more Game Haus content with groundbreaking news around the professional and esports world.

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