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The Los Angeles Lakers suffered a 117-107 loss to the Washington Wizards, their 46th loss on the season. The Lakers brought it within seven with less than a minute left in the fourth quarter, but Pau Gasol missed back-to-back free-throws and the team couldn't close the gap.
Both Steve Nash and Nick Young were productive in their return to the Lakers lineup. Young scored a team-high 21 points while Nash chipped in 11 points and 14 assists in 19 minutes.
Jordan Hill was ejected late in the game follow a scuffle between the teams.
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Simple things hurt the Lakers, like turnovers and missed free-throws. They were atrocious at the charity stripe, making just 14 of their 23 attempts. Pile up all those missed freebies with 21 turnovers and it's easy to figure out why the Wizards were able to build up to a 21-points lead. The Lakers largest lead of the night? Two points.
Gasol had an average game, scoring 14 points on 6-of-14 shooting while also grabbing a team-high 14 rebounds, but he was a huge contributor into the team's struggles. He missed three free-throws and coughed up the rock a team-high five times.
John Wall was phenomenal for Washington, scoring a game-high 28 points while also dishing out 14 assists. Bradley Beal was locked in from beyond the arc, making four of his six three-point attempts. He finished the night with 18 points.
Just another loss. The Lakers are currently a half game ahead of the Utah Jazz and three-and-a-half games ahead of the Orlando Magic, putting huge ping pong ball implications on the purple and gold's game against the Magic on Sunday. Till then just kick back and watch some March Madness. Sans potential target Jabari Parker, of course.