LeBron James added 31 points, while Anthony Davis scored 40 points and pulled down 15 rebounds for the Los Angeles Lakers, who defeated the visiting Washington Wizards 134-131 on Thursday night in overtime.
With 22 points from D’Angelo Russell and 12 from Austin Reaves, the Lakers defeated the interfering Wizards. One day prior, the Lakers overcame a 21-point deficit in the fourth quarter to defeat the Los Angeles Clippers. Nine points separate James from becoming the first player in NBA history to reach the 40,000 mark. James also had nine assists.
With 3:12 remaining in the extra frame, James tied the score at 131 points by blocking Jordan Poole’s attempt at a fastbreak dunk and then making a 3-pointer from the other end. With 2:30 left, Davis scored a slam to put Los Angeles up. With 1:28 remaining, James converted one of his two foul shots. In the closing seconds, Poole and teammate Kyle Kuzma missed 3-pointers that would have knotted the game. The Lakers defeated the league-leading Boston Celtics on the road to begin the month of February, and they went on to win 9-3.
Despite Poole scoring twenty of his thirty-four points in the first half, the Wizards lost for the thirteenth time in a row. For Washington, Marvin Bagley III scored 23 points, while Corey Kispert and Kuzma each contributed 20 points. Kuzma grabbed 10 rebounds, while Deni Avdija scored 15 points and pulled down 15 rebounds. After going to the bench for his first five games, Poole averaged 23.2 points, up from 9.3 points in his previous six starts.
In February, Washington went winless and suffered its 19th defeat in the previous 21 games. Before the Lakers took a 99-95 lead into the fourth quarter, the Wizards had led by as much as five points in the third quarter.
With 4:25 left, Tyus Jones scored four points for the Wizards, including a 3-pointer and a hit free throw after Lakers coach Darvin Ham was called for a technical foul. The Wizards were now tied at 118-118. Washington ran up a 10-2 lead after that stretch. With 43.7 seconds left, a 3-pointer by Poole gave the Wizards a 126-124 lead. With 24 seconds left, a drive and bank jumper by Reaves gave the Lakers a point. When the regulation buzzer rang, Poole missed a 3-pointer that would have won the game.