Kristaps Porzingis had a memorable night, his best in Wizards’ uniform as Washington rallied past the Lakers 119-127 last night.
Behind a dominant fourth-quarter performance from Kristaps Porzingis, the Wizards snapped a six-game losing streak. Porzingis finished with 27 points, while Kentavious Caldwell-Pope registered his 10th double-double of the season with 18 points and 10 rebounds.
Porzingis help Washington to a fourth quarter spurt, where the Wizards made a 34-18 run in the last 11 minutes of the game. During that stint, Porzingis shot 6-7 (.857) from the field.
“It just kind of happened naturally,” Porzingis said postgame, via NBA.com. “We were getting a mismatch and I was trying to make a play out there. I got my shot over a couple times, over some smaller guys.
My teammates kept trusting me and giving me the ball in those situations. I was just trying to make the right play out of that situation. That was it.”
The Lakers used “smaller” lineups during the fourth quarter, and Porzingis dominated the LA frontcourt. The Latvian big, who was traded to Washington from Dallas earlier in the season, missed a month of action due to a bone bruise in his right knee.
“I’m building my way back up to feeling good rhythm-wise and physically. I still feel a good way away from where I want to be. I’m feeling good and I’m excited to keep building and keep playing better,” Porzingis noted.
Washington was playing without former Laker Kyle Kuzma, who sit out with a right knee tendinitis. Rui Hachimura made his first start of the season in his place to put up 10 points on 5-of-9 shooting.
In a night that LeBron James became the NBA no.2 all-time scorer, the Wizards spoiled the fun and kept their slim play-in chances alive for the remainder of the season. They are 5.0 games behind the final play-in spot with 12 games remaining in the season.
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