Los Angeles Lakers, despite leading by 11 points at half-time, suffered their 9th straight loss and 34th defeat of the season against the Washington Wizards, 98-92, on Tuesday at Staples Center.
The losing trend continued for the purple-and-gold after throwing away another game that appeared pretty much theirs to win until they hit the wall in the second half.
In their third game since Kobe Bryant went down with a season-ending shoulder injury, the Lakers put up a strong start as they outscored the Wizards 31-24 in the first quarter. The home team sustained their fluid play in the second quarter with their reserves providing quality minutes to build 57-46 cushion at the break.
Coming off a 14-point, 6-assists performance against the Houston Rockets, Jeremy Lin played exceptionally well in the first half with five points and five assists and was +11 at the break.
However, the driving lane became a bit tighter for the Lakers in the second half, as Nene and Marcin Gortat began to clog up the interior. All-Star point guard John Wall also started to heat up after a rough shooting in the first half, creating easy shots for himself and his teammates.
Wall finished one rebound shy of a triple double after recording 21 points, 13 assists and 9 rebounds in 36 minutes. His backcourt running-mate, Bradley Beal, added 19 points on 9-for-18 shooting for the 31-15 Wizards.
It should have been a very special night for the Lakers, who handed out commemorative rings to posthumously celebrate Jerry Buss' 82nd birthday. However, the loss against the Wizards put the Lakers in even new uncharted territory, as it marked the franchise's longest losing streak since April of 1994.
For the second time in his career, rookie point guard Jordan Clarkson got the starting nod for the Lakers, recording 18 points on 8-for-18 shooting. Wayne Ellington also had a big scoring night with 28 points on 12-for-20 shooting.
Lin, meanwhile, could not build up from his solid showing in the first half, ending up with 7 points on 1-for-5 shooting and 8 assists in 23 minutes. According to a post-game analysis, playing Lin early in the third quarter could have changed the outcome of the game, but Byron Scott decided to stick with Clarkson and asses the rookie's play against top-level competition. Clarkson logged a career-high 37 minutes in the game.
