Wizards guard Brad Beal drives pass Lakers forward Julius Randle (Photo Cred - NBA.com)
In a game that had a bigger spotlight on it due to back and forth trash talk leading up to the game, Washington (3-1) fell on the road to the Lakers (2-2) 102-99 in overtime. Brad Beal led the way with a game high 28 points, yet, the Wizards shot 41 percent from the field, 23 percent from deep and a uncharacteristic 65 percent from the line, their worst free throw shooting performance of the young season.
Washington started the game off missing their first seven shots as Los Angeles jumped out in front early. Behind Beal, who scored seven in the first, the Wizards responded by hitting five out of six to tie the game at 13. LA, would close out the first quarter with a 23-18 lead thanks in large part to Larry Nance Jr 6 points and 3 rebound (3 offensive) performance.
Second period saw the Wizards bench take control of the game. Reserve guards Jodie Meeks ( 11 points) and Tim Frazier's passing (five assist) helped the bench score 14 points in the period to lead Washington to a 49-45 halftime lead.
Wizards came out the half with their best offensive quarter of the game. John Wall and Brad Beal combined to score 19 points in the third to help extend Washington's lead to ten, 79-69. Wizards shot 61 percent from the field during the third.
Feeding Gortat inside, the Wizards appeared to be ready to close the young lakers out, holding a 85-75 lead with a little over seven minutes left in the game. LA however would show some resiliency. Led by Brandon Ingram who scored 9 points and grabbed 6 rebounds in the period, including a clutch tip in off his own miss to tie the game at 92 with .7 seconds left. A three point miss by Brad Beal ended regulation. Los Angeles forced overtime by outscoring the Washington 17-7 down the stretch.
In overtime, Washington's shooting woes and inconsistent defense continued and the Lakers took full advantage with big three pointers from rookie forward Kyle Kuzma ( 15 points) and guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (14 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assist), to hand the Wizards their first loss of the season, 102-99.
Hyped up match up between point guards John Wall and Lonzo Ball didn't really come to fruition due to poor shooting on both sides and foul trouble for the rookie Ball. Wall finished with 19 points (7-22 FG) and 9 assist while Ball posted 6 points (2-11 FG), 10 assist and 9 rebounds.
Wizards center Marcin Gortat added another double with 11 points and 14 rebounds.
Ingram led L.A with 19 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assist while Larry Nance and Julius Randle added 18 points, 10 rebounds and 11 points, 9 rebounds respectively.
Notes - Washington allowed L.A. to 44 percent shooting from the field, while losing the rebound (53-45), assist (27-20) and points off turnovers battle (29-16) .
Next game @ Golden State 10/27 at 10:30 p.m.
