Hot Wall, Nene steer Wizards past Lakers
WASHINGTON – The Los Angeles Lakers are playing the waiting for Kobe game – trying to stay respectable without one of the NBA’s all-time greats.
Los Angeles’ had its three-game winning streak broken, 116-111, by the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night, while Bryant, who signed a two-year contract extension on Monday, watched on television from the locker room.
The Lakers’ star pledged his loyalty to the only team he’s ever played for in his first public comments about the extension, saying before the game that Los Angeles’ willingness to pay him a reported 48.5 million for the next two seasons makes him want to ‘’run through a wall’’ for the team.
He won’t play in Brooklyn on Wednesday or at Detroit on Friday as he concludes his rehab from surgery on his ruptured Achilles tendon.
His teammates nearly pulled out another win against a team with two hot players, John Wall, who had 31 points and Nene, who scored a career-high 30 on 13-for-22 shooting from the field.
‘’We have to learn how to win with this team. It’s just put together and we don’t have one thing that we go to all the time, but we’ll get it straight,’’ Los Angeles coach Mike D’Antoni said. ‘’They’re playing hard, and they’re together and we should have won tonight.’’
The Lakers are 7-8 but just 1-5 on the road.
Wall, who was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week on Monday, has scored more than 30 points in three straight games for the first time in his career. The point guard scored 11 points in the final 4:40 to help seal the win.
Washington coach Randy Wittman isn’t surprised or especially pleased by Wall’s success in his fourth year.
‘’No, because he’s going to play better (Wednesday),’’ Wittman said.
Washington plays at Milwaukee on Wednesday.
Wall and Nene became the first pair of Wizards to score 30 or more since Dec. 16, 2009, when Gilbert Arenas and Antawn Jamison combined to score 63 points at Sacramento.
Nene had never scored more than 28 points in his 12-year NBA career.
‘’I feel like wine. You get old. You get better,’’ the 31-year-old Brazilian said.
In Toronto, Andray Blatche scored 24 points, Joe Johnson had 21 and the Brooklyn Nets snapped a five-game losing streak, beating the Toronto Raptors, 102-100.