The struggling Washington Wizards’ challenging five-game road swing will finish with perhaps the most difficult assignment yet — a matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday night.
The Wizards (17-57) enter the second leg of a back-to-back set on the heels of their 18th loss in the past 19 starts.
Washington’s most recent setback — a 123-88 blowout against the host Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday — was the team’s second-worst defeat of the season.
Rookie Will Riley’s 14 points off the bench was the best contribution for the Wizards, who shot 32 of 87 from the field and 5 of 22 from 3-point territory.
The only bigger loss for Washington this season came in a 45-point thrashing against the Boston Celtics on Dec. 4.
The Wizards have lost their past seven games against the Lakers, a team they haven’t beaten since March 19, 2022.
A lot will need to go right for that to change this time, with Los Angeles (48-26) having won 14 of its past 16 games to take over the No. 3 spot in the Western Conference standings.
The Lakers concluded an arduous schedule of their own with a 116-99 home win over the Brooklyn Nets on Friday. Los Angeles held off Brooklyn’s gritty charge with a 31-15 fourth quarter.
The victory came after six road games in 10 days, and the Lakers went 5-1 during that span. At the end of the trip, coach JJ Redick acknowledged his team felt “tired and cranky.”
Los Angeles will enter the Washington clash refreshed after having consecutive days off for the first time since the All-Star break.
“It felt like we were a step slow (against the Nets),” Redick said. “I told the guys that at halftime, ‘This is our seventh game of the road trip’. Any time you come back and there’s a day in between, you’re just in another city until you can get adjusted to the time zone and you get a couple of days break. The next two days will be good for us.”
Luka Doncic scored 41 points vs. the Nets but will miss the game against the Wizards after picking up his suspension-triggering 16th technical foul of the season.
LeBron James registered the first father-son assist in NBA history when Bronny James hit a 3-pointer in the second period against Brooklyn.
Bronny has seen action earlier than usual in the past two games, with Marcus Smart, his old high school teammate, sidelined with a right ankle contusion and also dealing with a hip complication.
“Not taking for granted just being in the moment of us being on the floor (together) once again,” LeBron James said. “He was able to fake the pass to the corner and knock down the three. Definitely a cool moment for us and also for our family.”
–Field Level Media
