Advertisement

LeBron has a triple-double 1 day after cheering on Buckeyes in Atlanta. Lakers beat Wizards 111-88

LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James had 21 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds one day after flying to Atlanta and back to watch a football game on his day off, and the Los Angeles Lakers sent the Washington Wizards to their 11th consecutive defeat with a 111-88 victory Tuesday night.

James recorded his 121st career triple-double and his ninth of the season. The top scorer in NBA history showed no ill effects from his long trip Monday to watch his Ohio State Buckeyes' College Football Playoff championship game victory over Notre Dame.

Anthony Davis had 29 points and 16 rebounds for Los Angeles. Dorian Finney-Smith hit four 3-pointers while scoring 16 points, and Austin Reaves added 16.

Bilal Coulibaly scored 17 points for the Wizards, who haven't won since New Year's Day. Jordan Poole and Corey Kispert had 15 points apiece for Washington, which dropped to 1-18 on the road midway through a six-game trip.

Bronny James played the final 1:59.

Takeaways

Wizards: Coulibaly had his highest-scoring performance in January, while Kyle Kuzma had 12 points and nine rebounds against his former team.

Lakers: They had periods of struggle, but they didn't trail in the final 44 minutes and mostly handled their business against the NBA's worst team. Los Angeles reached the midway point of its schedule at 23-18.

Key moment

James scored 10 points in the second quarter while the Lakers pulled away. He then completed his triple-double with 3:19 to play, and the Lakers immediately called timeout to get him and Davis out of the game.

Key stat

James got his 2,308th career steal in the second quarter, passing Scottie Pippen for seventh place in NBA history. He finished the game with 2,309. Maurice Cheeks is sixth with 2,310.

Up next

The Lakers host the Celtics on Thursday, and the Wizards drive down the 110 freeway to face the Clippers on Thursday.

___

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA