LOS ANGELES — LeBron James had 33 points and nine assists, Lonnie Walker had 21 points and the Los Angeles Lakers overcame the absence of Anthony Davis to beat the Washington Wizards 119-117 on Sunday night.
Davis, who leads the Lakers with 27.4 points and 12.1 rebounds, injured his right foot in Friday night’s win over Denver and is expected to be out for several weeks.
Thomas Bryant added 16 points and 10 rebounds to help the Lakers win for the third time in their last four games and hand Washington its 10th straight loss and 13th in 14 games.
“You’ve got to follow the lead and sometimes wait for your (name) to be called,” Bryant said after the third start when Davis was sidelined. “It doesn’t change the fact that you have to be ready and stay ready and do it. What can you do to make sure you’re in that mode if something like this happens? I’m proud of my preparation.”
James appeared to lose the ball near the midway point, but recovered the ball and found Bryant underneath for the tiebreaking dunk with 7.1 seconds left. Former Laker Kyle Kuzma missed a 3-pointer against Washington with 2.1 seconds left.
“Whoever can play, we have to play,” said James, who had his fourth straight game with at least 30 points. “We’re all NBA players and we have to go out there and trust the game plan that the coaches put out there. We were able to do that for most of the game tonight.”
Bradley Beal scored 29 points in his return to “Wizards”. He missed the last six games with a hamstring injury, most recently in a 130-119 home loss to the Lakers on Dec. 4.
Kuzma scored 22 points and Kristaps Porzingis scored 21 for Washington. The Wizards last won at home against Minnesota on Nov. 28.
“It’s definitely disappointing,” Wizards coach Wes Unseld Jr. said after allowing the open basket on a broken play. “We were playing to get the ball out of (James’) hands and we missed it. We got our hands on the ball to loosen it up, we just didn’t get the ball.”
The Wizards took a 102-98 lead with 6:43 left on a layup by Daniel Gafford. But an 8-0 run by the Lakers, capped by James’ 3-point play, gave Los Angeles a 106-102 lead with 5:09 left. The Lakers never trailed again.
Austin Reaves hit a pair of floaters as the Lakers went up 115-111 with 1:17 left. But the Wizards tied it on back-to-back baskets by Gafford and Beal.
James gave the Lakers a 117-115 lead when he drove the ball down the court and split the lane for an uncontested dunk with 27.1 seconds left. Bale tied it again at 117 with a pair of free throws with 23.1 seconds left.
Bill played 32 minutes in the return.
“I thought he looked great,” Unseld said. “It’s an honor for him that he was able to come back. he’s really good as far as getting his rhythm on the floor.”
DAVIS DUNN
Davis was injured Friday when his foot twisted on the leg of Nuggets star Nikola Jokic.
The degree of severity is still being determined. He is due to see a specialist on Sunday evening.
Davis missed 36 of the Lakers’ 72 regular-season games in 2020-21, then missed 42 of 82 last season. Sunday was just his fourth absence of the season.
ADVICES
Wizards. Gafford suffered an ankle injury in the first half but returned after halftime. … C Delon Wright, who hasn’t played since Oct. 25 with a hamstring injury, continues to make progress toward a possible return by the end of the month.
Lakers. J Patrick Beverley did not play due to a sore right calf. …
NEXT
Wizards. Tuesday night in Phoenix.
Lakers. Monday night in Phoenix.
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