Bradley Beal scored 33 points and Russell Westbrook added 32 on Monday as the visiting Washington Wizards rallied for a 127-124 overtime victory over the Los Angeles Lakers for their first five-game winning streak in three years.
Beal scored six points in overtime after not making a field goal in the fourth quarter. He missed a long jumper as time expired in regulation to leave the score tied 115-all.
Westbrook, who added 14 rebounds and nine assists, made a shot inside and was fouled with 11.6 seconds remaining in overtime to put the Wizards up three points.
Westbrook missed the ensuing free throw to give the Lakers a chance to tie the score, but LeBron James and Kyle Kuzma missed 3-point attempts on Los Angeles’ final possession.
Rui Hachimura scored 15 points and Robin Lopez added 13 off the bench as the Wizards improved to 2-0 to open a four-game road trip against Western Conference teams. Washington’s last five-game win streak was Jan. 27-Feb. 5, 2018.
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James finished with 31 points, 13 assists and nine rebounds while Montrezl Harrell added 26 off the bench as the Lakers lost three consecutive games for the first time this season.
The Wizards trailed by as many as 17 points in the third quarter before their quick-strike offense began to take charge against a Lakers defense that was without Anthony Davis for the fourth consecutive game because of an Achilles injury. The Lakers also were without Dennis Schroder (COVID-19 protocols).
A 3-pointer by Deni Advija gave the Wizards a 90-88 lead with 10:06 to play, their first lead since midway through the first quarter. Advija’s basket capped an 8-0 run for Washington.
After the teams traded the lead multiple times, the Wizards went on a 10-0 run to grab a 102-94 lead with 4:52 remaining. A 5-0 run by James brought the Lakers within 104-102, but they did not get even again until Kentavious Caldwell-Pope made a 3-pointer with 1:08 remaining to tie the score at 111.
James tied the game again at 115 with 9.8 seconds remaining on a shot inside while he was fouled, but he missed the free throw. Beal then missed at the other end to send the game to overtime.
Caldwell-Pope added 21 points for the Lakers while Kuzma added 14 points and 11 rebounds.
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–Field Level Media