Wizards 101, Lakers 88
LOS ANGELES -- John Wall scored 22 points and handed out 13 assists, leading the Washington Wizards to a 101-88 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night at Staples Center.
Marcin Gortat collected 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Wizards, who ended a two-game losing streak. The Wizards (36-37) won for the sixth time in eight contests.
Washington's Otto Porter Jr. and J.J. Hickson, who made all five of his field-goal attempts, added 14 points apiece. Ramon Sessions came off the bench to score 11 points, while Nene had 10.
The win kept the Wizards 2 1/2 games back of the Detroit Pistons for the eighth and final spot in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
Rookie point guard D'Angelo Russell, who sustained an ankle sprain Friday in the Lakers' loss to the Denver Nuggets and was a game-time decision against Washington, scored 22 points to lead Los Angeles (15-58).
Kobe Bryant scored 15 of his 17 points in the first half. Bryant, who had nine points in the first quarter, did not play in the fourth quarter.
Julius Randle had 14 points and seven rebounds, and Lou Williams contributed 11 points for Los Angeles, the worst team in the Western Conference.
The Wizards prevailed despite the absence of Markieff Morris, who missed the game because of left calf tightness.
Washington blew the game open in the third quarter, outscoring Los Angeles 27-15. Porter had nine points in the period.
The Lakers led 27-24 after one quarter, but an 18-2 run by the Wizards boosted them to a 43-34 advantage after a bucket by Gortat with 5:13 remaining in the second quarter. Washington held a 50-44 lead at the break.
Wall had 17 first-half points to lead all scorers.
The Wizards converted 52.5 percent of their shots in the opening half compared to only 34.1 percent for the Lakers. Overall, the Wizards shot 54.2 percent to 37.9 percent for the Lakers.
NOTES: Wizards PG John Wall recorded his ninth consecutive double-double and 12th in the past 13 games. Overall, Wall has 46 double-doubles this season, which ranks second in the NBA to Oklahoma City PG Russell Westbrook, who has 48. ... With a triple-double in a loss to the Denver Nuggets on Friday night, 21-year-old Lakers F Julius Randle became the second-youngest player to accomplish the feat. Magic Johnson is the youngest. ... Los Angeles captured the previous meeting 108-104 on Dec. 2 at Washington. ... Over the last 30 years, the Lakers have lost just four season series to the Wizards. Two of those setbacks occurred during the previous two seasons. ... The Lakers visit the Utah Jazz on Monday. The Wizards play at the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday.