Despite being down as much as 16 points, the Washington Wizards rallied to spoil LeBron James’ historic night. Recently acquired center Kristaps Porzingis flashed what’s to come. He took over the fourth quarter with 16 of his team-high 27 points to lead the Wizards to a 127-119 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.
Porzingis’ takeover fourth was highlighted by a poster dunk over James that ignited the whole Capital One Arena.
James was called for the foul on the dunk that tied the game at 109-109. Porzingis made the free throw to give Washington the lead.
The two teams would trade leads until Porzingis threw down another dunk with 2:10 remaining that gave the Wizards the lead for good at 117-116. After a Porzingis step back jumper, Deni Avdija drained a huge three to extend the lead to 122-116.
On Washington’s next possession, Porzingis put the game away with a dagger three.
On the back of Kristaps Porzingis the Wizards outscored the Lakers 34-20 in the final quarter. He finished the game with 27 points on 9-of-17 shooting from the field. He made 8-of-10 free throws and added five rebounds and five assists.
The win snaps a six-game losing streak for the Wizards. Washington improves to 30-40 on the season. The Lakers fall to 30-41 with the loss.
The win also spoiled the milestone night for LeBron James and the return of Russell Westbrook to Washington.
James surpassed Karl Malone for No. 2 on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. James needed 20 points going into the night, he scored 23 in the first half and finished with 37 on the night.
