Bradley Beal scored 33 points and Russell Westbrook added 32 on Monday, February 22, as the visiting Washington Wizards rallied for a 127-124 overtime victory over the Los Angeles Lakers for their first five-game winning streak in 3 years.
Beal scored 6 points in overtime after not making a field goal in the 4th quarter, missing a long jumper as time expired in regulation to leave the score tied 115-all.
Westbrook, who added 14 rebounds and 9 assists, made a shot inside and was fouled with 11.6 seconds remaining in overtime to put the Wizards up 3 points.
Westbrook missed the ensuing free throw to give the Lakers a chance to tie the score, but LeBron James and Kyle Kuzma missed 3-point attempts on Los Angeles’ final possession.
Rui Hachimura scored 15 points and Robin Lopez added 13 off the bench as the Wizards improved to 2-0 to open a four-game road trip against Western Conference teams. Washington’s last five-game win streak was January 27 to February 10, 2018.
James scored 31 points with 13 assists and 9 rebounds, while Montrezl Harrell added 26 off the bench as the Lakers lost 3 consecutive games for the first time this season.
The Wizards trailed by as many as 17 points in the 3rd quarter before their quick-strike offense began to take charge against a Lakers defense that was without Anthony Davis for the fourth consecutive game because of an Achilles injury. The Lakers also were without Dennis Schroder (COVID-19 protocols).
A 3-pointer by Deni Advija gave the Wizards a 90-88 lead with 10:06 to play, their first lead since midway through the first quarter. Advija’s basket capped an 8-0 run for Washington.
After the teams traded the lead multiple times, the Wizards went on a 10-0 run to grab a 102-94 lead with 4:52 remaining. A 5-0 run by James brought the Lakers within 104-102, but they did not get even again until Kentavious Caldwell-Pope made a 3-pointer with 1:08 remaining to tie the score at 111.
James tied the game again at 115 with 9.8 seconds remaining on a shot inside while he was fouled, but he missed the free throw. Beal then missed at the other end to send the game to overtime.
Caldwell-Pope added 21 points for the Lakers, while Kuzma added 14 points and 11 rebounds. – Rappler.com
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