Verizon Center’s annual transformation into Staples Center East was even more pronounced than usual. The sellout was brimming with scores of purple-and-gold clad Los Angeles Lakers fans. The chants of “M-V-P!” started as soon as Kobe Bryant stepped to the line moments into the first quarter. The Wizards faced a depressing double-digit deficit before that quarter had ended.
Then, miraculously, it was gone, replaced by fans and a team that belonged to Washington again. And when it was clear that the Wizards (9-29), having been down 21 points midway through the third quarter, would end a nine-game losing streak to the Lakers (23-16) with a stunning bench-led comeback and 106-101 victory, it was chants of “Beat L.A.” that echoed throughout.
“My first time, ever, beating the Lakers,” said Wizards fifth-year guard Nick Young, who paced Washington with 19 points and a career-high six assists off the bench. “We knew we had to come back out. We knew a lot of fans was going to be here tonight. You don’t want to keep on getting booed off your home court. It’s the Lakers. You’ve got to want to come out and play hard.”
Bryant, wearing a clear mask to protect his broken nose, finished with 30 points but was just 1-for-10 with five points in the final quarter while Washington’s second-year reserve center Kevin Seraphin, had 10 of his career-high 14 points and five of his career high-matching nine rebounds. Using his 6-foot-10, 278-pound frame, Seraphin also rattled 7-foot, 285-pound Lakers center Andrew Bynum (19 points) into three of his game-high seven turnovers in the fourth. Pau Gasol (19 points) was also limited to four points in the period as Los Angeles, focused on trying to get Bryant one more NBA title, lost its second straight on the road following a resounding home win against the Miami Heat on Sunday.
Asked if the Lakers even knew who he was, Seraphin responded, “I don’t think so, no.”
Bynum’s power move around Seraphin gave the Lakers a 99-98 lead, but Seraphin answered by finishing off a stretch in which he scored 10 of 12 Wizards points with a short jumper and a dunk to put the Wizards ahead for good, 102-99, with 1:29 to play.
“Kevin, it’s his best game that he’s had since he’s been here,” Wizard coach Randy Wittman said. “He was under control. He rebounded. He made shots. He took shots under control, no quickness to it. He defended. He banged Bynum.”
The only starter on the floor as the Washington wrestled control after a disheartening two and a half quarters was Trevor Booker (18 points, career-high 17 rebounds), whose enthusiastic dunks were all the Wizards had going for them early in the second half.
“Tonight was one of those nights,” Booker said. “I started off early. I had a lot of energy tonight, and I was just trying to go after every rebound.”
There were few signs of life coming from John Wall (four points, nine assists, five turnovers). Things got so bad that on the final possession prior to halftime, Wall made a half-hearted move down the sideline and surprisingly dished the ball to Booker for an even more surprising 35-foot three-pointer. Wall didn’t even crack a smile as he walked off the court.
“Every time I turned the corner, they was making sure someone was there,” Wall said. “They made it tough for me to get back into the lane. I missed a couple easy shots I been making lately.”
At that point the Wizards were down 64-49, a score very similar to a 65-51 halftime margin en route to a 120-100 blowout loss to Golden State two nights before. Mindful of the boos that have greeted Andray Blatche’s rise off the bench in the last two games, they’d snuck the forward into a game during a timeout. At one point, Young rose all alone for a one-handed dunk only to lose the ball over top of the backboard.
But Blatche, JaVale McGee (12 points, 12 rebounds) and Jordan Crawford (14 points, five assists) were all watching during most of the second half comeback. Down 76-55 with 7:23 left in the third quarter, Booker’s putback jam set the Wizards off on a 27-6 run, including an 11-0 stretch to end the period, leaving them down 83-81. Young had nine of Washington’s final 14 points in the quarter.
“All of a sudden, there was no more Laker fans, and the momentum shifted,” Wittman said. “That’s what, hopefully, can go a long way for us in terms of that mentality of staying in the game, playing as hard as you can. You never know in an NBA game what’s going to happen.”
Roger Mason Jr. (14 points) started the fourth quarter by adding the second and third of his four 3-pointers to put the Wizards back on top, 87-83.
With the crowd responding to every basket, rebound and loose ball, the dynamic in the arena changed. With every play that came up in the Wizards’ favor, the fight and belief continued to grow. The Wizards just need to figure out how to harness it on a consistent basis.
If only they could play the Lakers every night.
“If we can, it would be fun,” Young said. “It’s just a great time out there.”
