The Wizards entered their matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers in desperate need of a win. Most of the game appeared like that wouldn’t happen until Kristaps Porzingis took over in the 4th quarter, scoring 16 of his 27 points in the last minutes of regulation. His late game rally fueled the Wizards 16 point comeback to defeat the Lakers 127-119.
“I had a slow start again in the first half,” Porzingis explained while discussing his performance. “We were getting a mismatch and I was trying to make a play there. Shot over some smaller guys and my teammates kept trusting me in that situation. That was it. It just kind of came naturally.”
“He [Porzingis] makes the game a little bit easier, Caldwell-Pope added. “He can roll and score in the paint. We can post him. There’s a lot that K.P. adds to this team. He’s just great to have out there. You can play through him the whole time which we did down the stretch and he came up big for us.”
The win gives the Wizards some confidence, snapping their six game losing streak. Although there is a lot of work to do, the team still has their sights set on the play-in tournament.
“That win meant a lot to us,” Caldwell-Pope shared. “We’ve been trying to get a win by any means. We let a few go by that we should have won. It feels great just to be in the winning column again. That gives everybody that momentum going into the next game to continue the winning streak. We need that for our mindset.”
Pope successfully took on a larger role (18 PTS, 4-11 FG) with Kyle Kuzma sidelined before the game with right knee tendinitis. Tomas Satoransky (16 PTS, 6-6 FG) and Deni Avdija (17 PTS, 4-14 FG) also stepped up big time in the Wizards victory.
Avdija’s play received recognition from a familiar face in Russell Westbrook after the game.
When asked about his conversation with Westbrook, Avdija said his former teammate told him: “I’m going to kill you if you don’t play like that every night. I know what you’re capable of.”
Wizards comeback after a 16-point deficit to defeat the #Lakers 127-119. Also check out Russell Westbrook showing love to Rui Hachimura & Deni Avdija. He was always big on the young guys. #DCAboveAll #LakeShow pic.twitter.com/YpnBtEe4Zv
— Carita Parks (@CaritaCParks) March 20, 2022
Besides the Wizards win, it was also a big night for Lebron James who surpassed Karl Malone (36,928 points) to become the second all-time scorer in NBA history. However, Washington managed to spoil the celebration.
Obviously at some point I’ll be able to look back at this moment, but right now the feeling I have – I can’t separate it,” James said. “We had a great opportunity to pick up some more momentum.”
With this shot, Lebron James is the 2nd all-time scorer in #NBA history! #LakeShow #DCAboveAll pic.twitter.com/GTRgwJ52po
— Carita Parks (@CaritaCParks) March 20, 2022
The Wizards hope to keep some momentum of their own going as they head to Houston on Monday to face the Rockets.