Lakers at Wizards
THE STORY: Winning on the road hasn’t been easy for the Los Angeles Lakers this season but the Washington Wizards have been one of the NBA’s least successful home teams. The Lakers dropped to 6-13 on the road by losing in overtime to the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday. The contest began a stretch in which the Lakers play five of six games on the road. Washington is just 5-15 at home and received an embarrassing 20-point drubbing by the visiting Golden State Warriors on Monday.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, KCAL (Los Angeles), Comcast SportsNet (Washington)
ABOUT THE LAKERS (23-15): Center Andrew Bynum continued his recent strong play with a season-high 30 points to go with 14 rebounds in the loss to the Pistons. Bynum has recorded double-doubles in 10 straight games and is averaging 17.3 points and 13.9 rebounds during the stretch. Bynum is averaging 16.6 points per game and ranks third in the league in rebounding (12.9) behind Orlando’s Dwight Howard (15) and Minnesota’s Kevin Love (13.7).
ABOUT THE WIZARDS (8-29): The effort Washington gives against the Lakers will be closely watched after coach Randy Wittman scalded his team after the humiliating loss to the Warriors. “That’s about as disappointed as I’ve been,” Wittman said. “I’ll take full responsibility for this one. I had a sense before the game we weren’t ready to play. But I ain’t going to put up with that again. We get one win and come in with that effort to start the game. Inexcusable and that’s on me. That’s on me. I’ll take responsibility for that because I’m going to clean that up. That is unprofessional.”
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. The Lakers have defeated Washington nine straight times.
2. Los Angeles guard Kobe Bryant had 22 points against Detroit but made just eight of 26 shots.
3. Wizards guard John Wall is averaging 23.4 points and 9.8 assists over the last five games.