The Los Angeles Lakers (29-37) ended a two-game losing streak by defeating the Washington Wizards (29-36) Friday night at Crypto.com Arena, with LeBron James recording his 14th career 50-point game.
James, 37, is the first player in NBA history to have multiple 50-point games after turning 35. He is also on the verge of becoming the only player in history to have at least 30,000 points, 10,000 rebounds, and 10,000 assists. This marks the 14th career 50-point performance for King James.
James opened his scoring night against Washington with a 3-pointer after going 1-for-9 from beyond the arc in Wednesday’s overtime loss to the Houston Rockets. He finished the game 6-of-9 from deep, shooting 18-of-25 from the field overall, with seven rebounds and six assists.
The King’s six assists put him two assists shy of 10,000 for his career. On a night when Russell Westbrook became the 11th player in NBA history with the most assists, he had one block in 36 minutes on the floor and shot a perfect 8-for-8 from the free-throw line.
Westbrook shot 2-of-11 from the field for five points, but he made up for it with nine assists in 31 minutes. He was not on the court late in the game, leaving Malik Monk, Austin Reaves, and Talon Horton-Tucker to handle the offense.
Monk had 21 points, THT had 15 in 30 minutes off the bench, and Reaves had 12. The Lakers were outrebounded by 10 on both ends of the floor as a team, exposing the team’s lack of size.
Kyle Kuzma led his team with 23 points as he and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope made their return to Los Angeles for the first time since being traded to Washington. KCP only managed four points on 1-of-6 shooting, with Corey Kispert and Rui Hachimura leading the way with 21 and 15 points, respectively.
For the Wizards, Kristaps Porzingis had a 14-point double-double with 14 rebounds, and Tomas Satoransky added 14 points off the bench. After one quarter, the score was tied, and Washington led by as many as nine points in the second, but James took over in the final two frames to secure his team’s victory.
The Lakers will look to start a winning streak when they visit the league-leading Phoenix Suns on Sunday. The Wizards will finish their back-to-back against the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday.
