The Los Angeles Lakers fell to the lowly Washington Wizards Friday night in a game in which they once held an 18-point lead.
Despite the fact that the Lakers had a full starting five for the first time in weeks, they could not find a way to put away the lottery bound Wizards. Los Angeles had opportunities down the stretch after giving up their big lead, but it could not make plays on either end of the court.
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After the game, coach Mike D’Antoni spoke to Mike Trudell and he talked about the Lakers’ lack of effort, especially in the final minutes.
D’Antoni as mad as he’s been: “We didn’t play hard enough.” Team took scoring for granted, didn’t work on D after building lead.
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) March 23, 2013
The Lakers came out very strong and they did a great job opening up an 18-point lead. However, the team began to play lackadaisically and it allowed the Wizards to get back into the game. Los Angeles had no answer for John Wall and Trevor Ariza as those two players led the Wizards’ surge in the second half.
It was a very disappointing loss for the Lakers and one that keeps the Jazz within striking distance for the eight spot in the Western Conference.