Wizards 116 Lakers 108
February 2, 2017 – Verizon Center, Washington, DC
Tonight was the worst Verizon Center crowd in terms of number of opposing fans and noise from them all season. Bradley Beal both took notice. “I’m sick of that too. That’s terrible,” Beal said. “It feels like we were on the road today. But that’s for another time.”
When the game was tied at 91 with 9 minutes to play, Purple and Gold were standing all around Verizon Center. That was a good thing for John Wall. “It kind of just made me mad,” Wall said. “Do what I had to do.” What Wall did was deliver Washington’s 16th straight home win by a score of 116-108.
1st quarter
It was Otto Porter who was not named to the three-point contest to some’s surprise give he is the league’s leader in that category coming into tonight, but did Bradley Beal take more offense. The max deal guard made his first three shots from beyond the arc in the first quarter to pace Washington. Although Porter is shooting better, I would argue Beal is still the Wizards best shooter from a fundamentals stand point. His stroke is just too sweet to deny
Nick Young may have been the headline for this game in his return to DC where he spent time playing from 2007-12, but he stunk up the place with 1 of 4 shooting including three missed three-pointers in the first twelve minutes of play. On the other hand, former Wizards second round draft pick Jordan Clarkson had seven points in less than seven minutes off the bench in the quarter on just four shot attempts.
2nd quarter
Instead of the Lakers, the Los Angeles basketball team’s name should be the Turnovers. The Lakers had 15 of them in the first half, which led to 17 Washington points. Los Angeles had barely half of their turnovers in assists with eight. In comparison, John Wall had seven assists by himself and the Wizards had a mere five turnovers at intermission.
Washington did not quite double up the Lakers in the scoring department in the second quarter, 27-15, but they did from a shooting percentage perspective. LA shot 25 percent, 5 of 20, from the field and 12.5 percent, 1 of 8, from beyond the arc. The Wizards shot 50 and 25 percent in both departments. The disparity in offensive efficiency allowed the Wizards to stretch their lead from 2 to 14, 58-44, at halftime.
3rd quarter
At first it looked like the Lakers were going to claw their way back into things, they later would, as they cut the Washington lead to six halfway through the quarter. Tarik Black could not be stopped on the boards and had six points, while D’Angelo Russell had nine points in the frame.
The starters would stretch things out to 14 thanks to a 17-9 run before exiting. Marcin Gortat came to life with 11 points by making all five of his field goal attempts including one of the and-1 variety. The Machine has been money as of late and that certainly continued tonight. Headed to the fourth quarter, Washington led 90-79.
4th quarter
Los Angeles started the quarter on a 12-1 run in the first three minutes of the final quarter. Clarkson shined on the Verizon Center floor that many wish he played on more often with 20 points off the bench. Lou Williams made all five of his free throws in a 90 second span and then tied the game on a layup.
From there, it was John Wall takeover time. Wall hit a three, then flew by for a layup, before another three-pointer for a personal 8-2 run.
We will let the highlights tell the rest of the story as the Wizards went on to win 116-108.
#WizKnicks in a Tweet
The Game’s Top Performer
John Wall 33 points, 11 assists, 3 steals
My oh my, what can we say. For one, former Wizards guard Nick Young called Wall a closer to which the latter appreciated sincerely. The Wall Star had 16 points in the fourth quarter on 5 of 8 shooting to make an early bid for February Eastern Conference Player of the Month.
A forgettable night for..
Nick Young
Young is having a nice season, but a case could be made that both Otto Porter and Bradley Beal should have been in the All Star three-point contest over Swaggy P. Wall called it shocking that neither Porter nor Beal made the cut, but back to the point. The former Wizard and continual joker was an abysmal 3 of 10 from the field including 1 of 8 from beyond the arc for just 7 points.
Key Stat of the Night
Let’s get some love for Marcin Gortat since he could not be our top performer of the game. The Polish Machine had 21 points on 10 of 13 shooting and 14 rebounds. In his last five games, Gortat is averaging 16.8 points on 80.9 percent shooting, 11 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.4 steals. “They keep thinking the European guy can’t score?,” Gortat said. “I’m just doing my job.”
What’s next?
Washington will take on the New Orleans Pelicans from the Verizon Center on Saturday. The Wizards will be going for their 17th straight home win against the team Washington beat last week in the Big Easy. Wall tied his career-high with 19 assists in that one and will be up against his Kentucky brother Anthony Davis for the final time this season.
Box Score:
