WASHINGTON —
Russell Westbrook swung his hips in a circle with his hands straight up in celebration.
He’d just hit Anthony Davis with a perfect pass, with the Lakers big man rolling to the basket for two more points while drawing a foul.
The hoop and free throw gave him 41 points. The crowd chanted “M-V-P.”
And the third quarter hadn’t ended yet.
By the time the game was done, Davis had finished his best game as a Laker, scoring 55 points, grabbing 17 rebounds and blocking three shots in the Lakers’ 130-119 win.
It was Davis’ 10th consecutive game with at least 20 points and 10 rebounds and his highest scoring game as a Laker.
The performance was so dominant and efficient, it was just the 12th game in NBA history in which a player scored at least 55 points and shot fewer than 10 free throws. No player had ever scored 55 or more on just 30 shot attempts.
The Lakers led by as many as 29 before the Wizards cut the lead to single digits, but Davis was always there to calm the storm.
In the fourth, he made a clutch three-point shot and skied for a lob from LeBron James to put Washington away for the Lakers’ third straight win and eighth victory in the last 10 games.
James scored 29, Lonnie Walker IV added 20 points and Westbrook contributed 15 assists in the Lakers’ win.