Washington Wizards launch past Lakers, stretch home winning streak to 16
Washington Wizards’ John Wall explodes for 33 points and 11 assists to lead the Wizards past the Lakers Thursday night at Verizon Center.
Washington Wizards‘ All-Star John Wall stepped up when his team needed him most, scoring 16 fourth quarter points to lead the Wizards past the Los Angeles Lakers 116-108.
Wall, who will travel to New Orleans next weekend to play in his fourth All-Star game, didn’t allow the Wizards to fall out of sync as the Lakers stormed back from an 11-point fourth quarter deficit.
After the Wizards’ fourth-quarter lead had evaporated with a little over nine minutes left, an unruffled Wall answered by sinking a three-point shot to put the Wizards back on top. Wall went on to score the next five points, including another three-point basket, silencing the notably ample amount of Lakers fans scattered throughout the 16,473 in attendance at Verizon Center.
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With the victory over the Lakers Thursday night, the Wizards are now just six games shy of equalling the franchise’s record-setting 22 straight home wins set by the 1974-75 Washington Bullets, who then played at the Capital Centre.
In the meantime, fans can celebrate the team’s current achievements that include their longest winning streak since moving to the Verizon Center, moving into second place for the team’s most consecutive home wins, surpassing the 1989 Bullets’ 15-game winning streak.
Joining in Wall’s stellar performance in last night’s victory was Bradley Beal who shot 52.9 percent from the field for 23 points. In the last five games, Beal is averaging 24.8 points and shooting 61 percent, all resulting in a Wizards win. In fact, the Wizards are 11-2 this season when Beal shoots better than 50 percent.
The fans at Verizon Center witnessed one of, if not, the NBA block of the year when Beal chased down Lakers’ D’Angelo Russell and spitefully swatted Russell’s attempted layup as the basketball ricocheted off the backboard.
The Wizards are now 22-9 record since the first of December is an NBA-best and a success story very few expected after a troubling 3-9 start. Also, in the last 10 games, the Wizards lead the Eastern Conference with 113.3 total points per game. Only the Denver Nuggets and Golden State Warriors have scored more points.
Two guys that don’t get enough credit for their tenacious play under the basket is Wizards’ Marcin Gortat and Markieef Morris. The Wizards’ frontcourt is third in the NBA in rebounds as well as holding the NBA’s fourth-best field goal percentage at 51.8 percent. Morris, who is undoubtedly playing some of the best basketball of his career, is coming off a January where he averaged 17.2 points with 8.6 rebounds.
On the other hand, you have the unwearied Gortat getting substantial playing time at 34.5 minutes per game, second among NBA centers. The Polish Machine has racked up 28 double-doubles this season, which is 10th in the NBA.
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Next, the Wizards host the New Orleans Pelicans Saturday night at Verizon Center with hopes of advancing their home winning streak to 17 games and seventh win overall.