Lakers at Wizards
The Los Angeles Lakers solved some of their offensive issues on Tuesday, just in time to take on a team operating at the top of its game. The Lakers will try to come up with enough points to challenge one of the hottest teams in the East when they kick off a five-game road trip at the Washington Wizards on Thursday.
Los Angeles averaged 86.3 points over its last three road games - all losses - before making a one-game stop at home and shooting 52.8 percent from the floor in a 120-116 win over the Denver Nuggets. "I thought there was a lot of positive to that game and I thought there was a good amount of negative, too," Lakers coach Luke Walton told reporters. "That was my challenge to them after the game. Take some time to reflect. Think about individually and as a team when we are good and unselfish and talking on defense and what that looked like." Los Angeles is going to need plenty of communication on the defensive end against the Wizards, who won 12 of their last 14 games and are averaging 111 points in that span. Washington shot 55.7 percent from the floor and placed six scorers in double figures, led by Bradley Beal's 28 points on 12-of-18 shooting, in Tuesday's 117-101 triumph over the New York Knicks.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, Spectrum SportsNet (Los Angeles), CSN Mid-Atlantic (Washington)
ABOUT THE LAKERS (17-34): Los Angeles dropped its last 10 road games but is heading out for the current trip with some momentum after point guard D'Angelo Russell handed out a career-high 10 assists and rookie center Ivica Zubac added a season-high 17 points on 8-of-9 shooting. Zubac scored in double figures in three straight games and is a regular part of the rotation of late after barely getting off the bench in the first 2 1/2 months. "It means a lot because I was working hard since summer league," Zubac told reporters. "This was my reward. I’ve been working hard for these minutes and I’m not going to let them go."
ABOUT THE WIZARDS (28-20): Tuesday's triumph marked the 15th straight home win for Washington, which has won five in a row overall. "The joy that we have and just the fun we’re having is amazing," Beal told the Washington Post. "It’s always positive in here. We want nothing but the best for one another. It’s great camaraderie, and we just take it all on the floor. We play for one another." Beal is averaging 23.8 points on 58 percent shooting during the five-game winning streak while All-Star point guard John Wall helped with a total of 32 assists in the last two contests.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Wizards C Marcin Gortat went 7-of-7 from the floor on Tuesday and is shooting 82.1 percent from the field in the last five contests.
2. Lakers PF Julius Randle (illness) missed the last two games but was cleared to travel with the team and could return on Thursday.
3. The Wizards took six of the last seven in the series with the lone loss coming in Washington last season, when Los Angeles earned a 108-104 victory.