Wall had 21 points, 13 assists and nine rebounds, leading the
Wizards to a 98-92 victory at Staples Center.
Wall, whose status was uncertain until game time due to a migraine
and sore ankles, helped the Wizards rally after they trailed by as
many 19 points in the first half.
"We didn't come out with a sense of urgency and compete right away,"
said Wall, who hit eight of 12 shots from the floor. He also had
three steals. "I've been on teams like that when we've played a good
team and we come out aggressive and we feel like we have a chance to
win. We gave them life. Luckily, we had opportunities to start
competing to close out the second quarter and get it to a decent
amount. But the first half, they were basically doing what they
wanted."
Guard Bradley Beal scored 19 points for the Wizards, who won their
second straight. Washington (31-15) prevailed without starting
forward Paul Pierce, who missed the game due to a sore right big
toe.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2015/Jan/28/images/ads/current/LPL_small%201.gif) "We made it way too close," Beal said.
After a strong first half, the Lakers' offense sagged in the second
half. Los Angeles managed just 33.3 percent shooting after
intermission compared to 47.6 percent for the Wizards. Overall,
Washington shot 48.7 percent from the floor compared to 42.5 percent
for the Lakers.
"We got into a stretch where we just couldn't make shots," Lakers
coach Byron Scott said. "That was basically the game."
Guard Wayne Ellington scored a career-high 28 points for the Lakers,
who dropped their ninth consecutive contest. Point guard Jordan
Clarkson also achieved a career best in scoring, finishing with 18
points. Reserve forward Ed Davis had 14 points for Los Angeles
(12-34).
Ellington and Clarkson outplayed counterparts Wall and Beal in the
first half as Los Angeles took a 57-46 lead at the break. That
changed, though, in the second half.
"I made up my mind, I'm going to come out aggressive," Ellington
said. "We are a team that needs to be hungry."
The Lakers played without guard Nick Young, who sprained his right
ankle in practice Monday. They already lost guard Kobe Bryant, who
will miss the rest of the season with a torn right rotator cuff.
"The biggest thing was that we were surprised by how confident they
were coming in," Beal said. "That's what we really underestimated.
We thought, given their record, given the guys who weren't playing
tonight, we just thought it was going to be an easy game, and we
can't approach it that way if we want to be the team we want to be."
[to top of second column] |
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Los Angeles pulled within 90-88 after a free throw by forward Wesley
Johnson with 3:30 remaining, but the Lakers managed little else when
it mattered most. A three-point play by forward Nene, a bucket by
forward Otto Porter and a jumper by Beal pushed Washington's lead to
97-90 with 43.4 seconds left.
Los Angeles got off to a fast start. The Lakers took advantage of 10
Wizards turnovers, while committing five, en route to their 11-point
advantage at the half.
However, the Wizards rallied in the third quarter, outscoring the
Lakers 29-19. A three-point play by Clarkson with 7:28 remaining in
the period gave the Lakers a 68-54 advantage, but Washington went on
a 14-0 run to tie the score on a three-point play by Porter five
minutes later. Los Angeles ended the quarter clinging to a 76-75
lead.
A layup by backup point guard Andre Miller gave the Wizards an 82-80
lead with 8:59 remaining, and Washington never trailed again.
NOTES: The slew of injuries for Los Angeles and sometimes poor play
of PG Jeremy Lin are allowing coach Byron Scott to speed up the
development of rookie Jordan Clarkson, who started his third game in
a row. "Like I told him, he has to be patient, slow down and let the
game kind of come to him," Scott said. "The game is still probably
going 100 miles per hour for him, so the more he gets experience for
doing this, the more the game will slow down." ... The Lakers
honored the late Jerry Buss, who would have been 81 on Tuesday, with
a video tribute and gave fans commemorative rings with the late
owner's image on them. ... The Wizards cap their four-game road trip
Wednesday in Phoenix against the Suns. ... The Lakers host the
Chicago Bulls on Thursday.
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